SEO or PPC – Which One Should You Choose?

Business is inexorably moving into the digital realm, and today almost everyone, from large corporations to small companies, has their own website.

But a website alone is not enough for success, and sooner or later, business owners begin to understand that to attract customers, it is necessary to use advertising tools that are effective in the online environment. Contextual advertising and search engine optimization are such tools. But which of them should you choose to achieve your goals? Let's take a closer look!

Let's start with the fact that both SEO and PPC allow you to attract visitors to your page, but they work in radically different ways. It is the mechanism of action that determines the choice of one or another advertising strategy. Do not forget about the possibility of using both options. We will also talk about this later in our article.

When should you choose SEO?

SEO promotion is the optimization of the site itself so that search engines find it at the request of potential customers and offer them a link to your resource among the first search results. And from this point of view, many believe that when asked: "SEO optimization or contextual advertising, which is better?" - the answer will be SEO. But everything is much more complicated.

To begin with, SEO optimization is a progressive process. It requires time to develop high-quality content, adapt it to the requirements of the main PS, and implement it on the site. But the result will be targeted traffic that will come to the site for free - simply due to the fact that the target audience will receive your site in the results when searching for goods or services.

SEO advantages

The following are the advantages of SEO over contextual advertising:

• Long-term perspective: even with a one-time cash injection into site promotion using SEO tools, you will get a long-term effect. Users will continue to receive your page in the first positions when searching, click on the link, and, of course, buy your goods or services. Of course, at first, you need to resort to the help of professionals and pay for optimizing the content, but over time you will be able to learn the basic principles of promotion using SEO tools, and then continue the promotion work yourself.
• SEO is beneficial for company owners due to the fact that once the work is done qualitatively, it will be effective for a long time. There is no need to constantly update advertising because the information on the site itself will constantly work as an advertising tool. This will reduce costs because you will only have to pay once. But do not forget that such an effect will be real only if all the work is done qualitatively and professionally.
• User loyalty and trust in the company increases when using SEO methods. The mechanism is very simple: before buying anything, most buyers look for information about the brand and its sellers online. And if you find yourself in the TOP of the search for key queries, this will be a signal to a potential buyer that you can be trusted. Accordingly, the chance that a purchase will be made in your online store or through the page will be higher.

In general: the long-term development and engagement perspective, simplicity and point application favorably distinguish this method and allow SEO to win in the confrontation between "SEO promotion and contextual advertising". But it also has its weaknesses, which are worth knowing about before you urgently start looking for a person to entrust with the processing of content for promotion in search engines.

Disadvantages of search engine promotion

• Time frame: until SEO optimization works, you will be in uncertainty. And the visible result may appear in six months a year, or even later. During this period, you will have doubts about the profitability of the chosen strategy, and not everyone is ready for this.
• Cash injections: if you decide to scale your business, this will require additional investments, and they will be considerable, if, of course, you are aimed at really high-quality work.
• And there is also the risk of reworking all the content, and this will also require investing your money.
• You should not use “forbidden techniques” in this strategy, otherwise search engines may impose sanctions on you and simply block you from the results.

To summarize, let's say when the question of what is better, contextual advertising or SEO, the latter will win.

• When natural traffic is your priority. In this case, you should start working on optimization at the site development stage.
• When you want to gain a foothold in the market and are not expecting an instant influx of customers.
• If you are just planning to create your company page: in this case, you can first think over a structure adapted for SEO.

When should you choose contextual advertising?

The difference between contextual advertising and SEO is about the same as the difference between tactics and strategy: in the speed of achieving the desired result. Most often, PPC is used if you need to instantly increase sales or test the viability of your business hypothesis regarding a specific product. With proper setup, you can get a noticeable influx of visitors within 24 hours.

Advantages of PPC

When choosing: contextual advertising setup or search engine optimization, you need to pay attention to the advantages of the first:

• Quick launch and short-term effectiveness.
• It is good to use it for initial promotion.
• Such advertising works well when promoting seasonal products and projects at a strictly defined time.
• Multiple options for advertisements give room for imagination and creativity.
• This is an excellent tool for evaluating and testing new offers, as well as for testing the effectiveness of innovations on the site.
• Availability on all versions of devices, from desktop to mobile.

Disadvantages of contextual advertising

Don't forget about the disadvantages.

• It can be difficult to set up advertising campaigns yourself. This requires fine-tuning and accurate analytics of queries that will engage users.
• A constant infusion of money: the principle of PPC is to pay for a click from a user on your ad. Accordingly, as soon as you forget to top up your account, the ad will stop showing.
• The following follows from the previous drawback: if you incorrectly process the target audience or position the product, you will simply throw money away.

In general: if you have set an advertising budget on a permanent basis if you are targeting a mobile segment of the audience, want to test innovations, or you need to advertise a seasonal product, PPC is the best fit for you.

The difference between contextual advertising and SEO

Search engine optimization and contextual advertising are effective, and this is confirmed by thousands of companies that resort to such measures. The differences in these methods are fundamental:

• PPC has an instant effect but works only as long as there are funds in the account. SEO is launched slowly but later does not require investments.
• Both contextual advertising and SEO attract customers, but they act in different ways. PPC is more aggressive, and SEO is natural.
• Both SEO and contextual advertising appear in search engines, but PPC has the ability to integrate into all devices, which is convenient for those who focus on smartphone users.
• SEO optimization is convenient for those companies that offer the same products, regardless of the season, contextual advertising is for seasonal products.
• If you are going to set up advertising yourself, when it comes to SEO or contextual advertising, you should choose the first option. Learning SEO setup is easier, but PPC with incorrect targeting will bring you losses.

Advantages of combined PPC and SEO advertising

But you don't always have to stick to a radical choice: either search engine optimization or contextual advertising. Together, these methods will provide you with a double effect! Statistics are inexorable: organic search will not give you the maximum amount of traffic. But with the help of contextual advertising, you will reach the maximum.

How does it work?

• Users are more likely to notice brighter advertisements and the presence of your company in the TOP results also plays a role. Both factors reinforce the user's good attitude.
• Often, the comprehensive development of an SEO core for optimizing the site and advertising gives good results, and in search engines, you find yourself in the first ranks twice: in organic search, and as an advertisement.

Site promotion and contextual advertising together are much more effective than separately. Therefore, if your budget allows you to use both methods, it is better not to ask the question: what is better to choose contextual advertising or SEO optimization? Use them together and get twice the benefit.

If your business needs professional support on the Khoroshop, Shopify, or Etsy platforms, our partner — Goal Team — will provide a full cycle of work to successfully launch your business online. If you are interested in promotion on other platforms, contact our managers for consultation and selection of the best solution for your business.