Difference between SEO and PPC

[indieswal]

I know this might be a little elementary, but what is the main difference between SEO and PPC? Do you consider PPC to be part of SEO?

[lfreeman]

Re: Difference between SEO and PPC

Pay Per Click is just one element of marketing while SEO relates to the Optimization of your site to aid in searches by the hundreds of search engines on the internet.

You would get a lot more information on these subjects by using Google ...

I know this might be a little elementary, but what is the main difference between SEO and PPC? Do you consider PPC to be part of SEO?

[eMediaSales]

Re: Difference between SEO and PPC

Hi Indieswal,

PPC (Pay-per-click) is a method of buying instant traffic - you are paying (for each click) to send visitors to your site. When you buy a PPC ad, you are essentially buying short term ranking on a specific page (usually targeting page one) of Google, in the right-hand "sponsored listings" section. When you turn off your ad (run out of budget or patience), the so also will you turn off your instant traffic.

Unless you have a very sticky website, product or service, or corresponding natural search results (from SEO) a pay-per-click user might never return once you turn off your ads. Pay per click campaigns can be very difficult to run and manage, and many novices can blow their initial budget in a few days and give up, swearing never to use PPC again. However, if well managed, monitored and tweaked over a period of months, PPC campaigns can (but will not always) become ROI positive. Most don't start out that way, and many never become ROI positive. But you may still choose to continue to spend PPC money over the long run for reasons described in my article referenced below.

SEO (Search engine optimization) is a process of raising your "natural search position" for specific terms. When you pay for SEO service, you are essentially paying someone to work for you to achieve LONG term ranking on a specific page (usually targeting page one) of Google, in the left-hand "search results" section. Improving your rankings for natural search rankings is NOT instant, which is why many good SEO firms will work on 6 month or 1-year contracts. And it is also an ongoing process, since your competitors will continuously try to leapfrog you to a higher position.

SEO results take longer to achieve, but the results also last longer. Your rankings don't drop immediately if you quit ongoing SEO maintenance, but they will begin to dip over time. Thus, you can continue to acquire natural search traffic even after you stop paying your SEO consultants.

So, in general:
PPC = short term results
SEO = long term results

I generally recommend that new business use PPC and SEO together for reasons described in my article, and so you can jumpstart the business to acquire new customers. Customers are golden - it usually takes a LOT less marketing money to get REPEAT business from existing customers than to get NEW customers.

Best,
James

[jen.bas]

Re: Difference between SEO and PPC

Hi,

Much have been explained here about the difference of SEO and PPC..

And would like to add some more info:

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of doing changes to your websites or using external services and practices to improve your sites search engine ranking for keyword terms and topics. Usually conducted to build brand recognition, and build traffic to the desired website or page for the desired keywords.

SEO these days can also be considered an art, as there are quite a lot of things that come into play when considering the advancement of one's site.

Anyone can do SEO and once you get the basics down it is very easy to make it happen, it is often boring and methodical, but to put it simply, it works.

On the other hand, PPC advertising is profitable when you are earning more from the traffic than you're spending to acquire it. In numbers, this means that if your e-book is selling for $27 and you are spending $0.15 a click, a conversion rate of 1% (1 out of 100 visitors buy your book) will mean that you are earning $27 for every $15 spent – a profit of $12 per sale. These aren‟t amazing numbers, but if you can get free subscriptions to your list (through article submissions, referrals and links from other websites) you will be gaining subscribers for free, which will immediately increase your profits.