Online brand awareness has become crucial in the context of the pandemic breakout. This year, people stayed more than ever on the Internet, so it became clear that you have to know how to get to your target so your business can resist the competition. If you want to reach a better presence in this particular medium, you can rely on multiple marketing strategies. Among the most popular ones are social media and influencer marketing, video advertising, SEO services, or Pay-per-Click ads.
One way or another, all the strategies enumerated above are efficient. However, the last two are surrounded by numerous controversies among online marketing specialists. There is even a myth stating that Google always had a knack for PPC to the detriment of SEO. However, at second glance, things may be more complicated. In this article, we’ll discuss the complex relationship between these two unique marketing services.
In this regard, we found a statement made by Ovidiu Joita, marketing specialist, that will help us understand better the subject:
“On one hand, Google doesn’t want people to optimize their web pages, because the search engine prefers to sell its ad services. On the other hand, Google appreciates a well-optimized website, as it will attract a larger number of customers. Services and products that provide a reliable source of information are crucial to Google’s existence since the absence of those will turn people to other search engines.”
Whatever the means are, the motive stays the same – raising brand awareness, and gaining profit from selling online products and services.
So, the question is: can SEO services coexist with Google Ads? The answer, in short, is YES, but you’ll have to monitor carefully your objectives to quickly adapt to any unforeseen circumstances. The main takeaway here is that SEO generates organic traffic, while PPC is more focused on the direct traffic. Below you can find a shortlist of all the advantages and disadvantages of using each type of marketing service:
Benefits of PPC
- Access to the specific targeting, following different criteria, such as demographic factors, keywords, geographic factors, etc.
- Allows for a flexible budget, without minimum or maximum quotas, which can be set for each day.
- Fast brand awareness gain – Your website will be listed as an ad on the first page of SERPs.
- Gaining awesome sales leads in a short amount of time, with the right budgeting.
Drawbacks of PPC
- Instant loss of traffic once you turn off the money tap for ads.
- You’ll need some deep knowledge and understanding for correct and efficient targeting.
- Users may just ignore the ads.
- Sometimes, in really competitive niches, you may have to invest more and more each month to stay afloat.
Benefits of SEO services
- Smaller budget, compared to Google Ads
- Precise targeting, following the keywords searched by users.
- The organic presence in the top results is great for raising brand awareness.
- Lower impact on sales once you stop investing.
Drawbacks of SEO
- Needs a long-term strategy to prove efficient, with permanent investments.
- Takes some time for the first results to show.
- You will have to “mix and match” SEO services with other online marketing strategies. SEO works best when used in conjunction with social media, video marketing, and content strategies.
