SEO Vs. PPC: Which Should You Focus On First?

What Are The Differences Between SEO And PPC?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of trying to rank higher on Google and boost your organic traffic. Usually, companies enforce it both on-page in the form of keywords and meta descriptions, and off-page through backlinks to improve their rankings. What matters most for SEO is high-quality and expert content that positions you as a thought leader in your field. PPC is a completely different marketing option, and that’s why people often put themselves in the dilemma of SEO vs. PPC. PPC, or pay-per-click, refers to paying for top placements, also known as ads. What’s so amazing about it is that you only pay when someone clicks on your placement. It is typically disclosed that your PPC ad is sponsored, so people know it’s not an organic result.

The future of internet marketing isn’t adopting one of the two marketing tactics. It’s about combining them. Because even when you place PPC ads, you need to identify your target keywords, meaning that basic SEO knowledge is more than necessary. Of course, you need to know the differences between PPC and SEO and where each can benefit you. So, let’s clear everything up!

In This Guide, You Will Find…

The Benefits Of SEO

It goes without saying that a proper SEO content strategy builds organic traffic that generates a steady stream of website visitors. Data shows that 91.5% of traffic stays on the first page of Google results. Therefore, this should be your goal when crafting an SEO strategy.

SEO vs. paid search has one core difference. When you rank high organically, you don’t have to pay each time someone clicks on your link. Yes, it takes time to get to that high level of visibility, but once you do, you enjoy the fruit of your effort.

Isn’t it more trustworthy when you consistently appear at the top of search results instead of paying for ads? Customers usually consider you a credible figure when they see you ranking high. It shows them that your viewpoints are popular.

As long as you take care of all on-page SEO factors, your content will continue performing well even if you stop updating your pages for a while. You could even stop publishing new content for a short while without seeing a drop in rankings or visits. This is why SEO is more sustainable for future growth.

The Drawbacks Of SEO

Yes, SEO is amazing and still very much necessary. However, according to many Search Engine Optimization specialists, it takes 3–6 months to rank on Google. That’s why many businesses fall into the dilemma of SEO vs. PPC.

Although many pros start by identifying competitor keywords to stand out from the crowd, it is often really hard to beat the competition. That’s why we advise companies to shift their attention to long-tail, less competitive phrases that may receive less traffic but have higher customer intent.

SEO strategies take time to organize, as they involve creating high-quality content, link building, and so many other things. It takes time not only to create the content but also to win people’s trust with your deep knowledge. But first, you have to win Google’s trust by proving your website has E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness).

One reason why many companies choose to invest in white label SEO is that an expert SEO agency stays on top of algorithmic changes and makes timely changes. This is particularly crucial in our era, where AI has invaded our lives and is making ranking harder than ever. Now, to get indexed on AI results, you need an elevated set of SEO knowledge.

The Benefits Of PPC

Pay-per-click advertising is the exact opposite of SEO. All you have to do is bid for advertising space and get in front of millions of eyes instantaneously. You can choose any platform that suits your needs and aligns with your audience, and pay for an ad. You don’t have to wait for months for your PPC strategies to work.

Pay-per-click campaigns are usually super targeted. Most platforms allow you to target specific audiences by choosing demographics, locations, job titles, interests, etc. This way, only people with an interest in what you do see and click on your PPC ad.

The wonderful thing about PPC in digital marketing is that it offers quick feedback. You can do iterative testing on your campaigns, monitor the performance, and make alterations to improve them accordingly. That’s a core difference in the dilemma between SEO vs. PPC. With PPC, you can see what works and what doesn’t. With SEO, it isn’t as easy to identify or measure what performed well.

The Disadvantages Of PPC

Since you’re paying every time someone clicks on your ad, enforcing this strategy in the long term can be very expensive. And the more competitive a keyword, the higher each click costs. That’s why businesses use PPC advertising for short periods of time.

• It’s Not Always Effective

Just because you’re paying to hopefully appear at the top of search engine results (if someone else doesn’t outbid you), it doesn’t mean that you’ll get clicks. That’s because 94% of users skip paid ads and go straight to organic. But this is not the case when we are talking about niche-specific PPC directories. There, audiences are already searching for solutions, meaning most of your clicks are targeted and might end up in meetings or demo requests.

Once you pull your PPC campaign, your visibility is immediately lost. That’s why you should work on an SEO strategy simultaneously. If you don’t have the in-house expertise, you may hire a marketing agency that can help you conduct an SEO audit and then craft a content strategy.

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SEO Vs. PPC: Which One Is Better?

PPC and SEO services, as you may understand by now, are different things. They are not at war with one another. They work hand-in-hand to help you reach your goals. SEO is about curating high-quality content, doing internal linking, and building backlinks, among other things. It’s like slow-acting medicine that can have positive, long-lasting effects. Besides that, having your content rank organically boosts your credibility. There’s something about having the words “ad” or “sponsored” next to your content that makes people skeptical.

On the other hand, a PPC campaign can get you to the top of the page without too much effort. As long as you have the money to spend, you can beat your competition easily. That is, if you know which keywords to target and how to bid properly. However, PPC marketing on platforms like Google may be too expensive for small businesses with limited resources. That’s why investing in a PPC listing upgrade on niche platforms like eLearning Industry is beneficial.

At the end of the day, it’s not a matter of SEO vs. PPC. It’s about crafting a marketing strategy that involves both to the extent you want.

When Should You Use Either One?

SaaS startups probably don’t have a large budget to work with or established credibility in the niche. In this case, you should start with SEO campaigns. To build authority and showcase expertise, you must consistently publish articles, eBooks, and other types of content, including webinars, guides, and whitepapers. Over time, you’ll start seeing better rankings and more organic clicks. Additionally, an effective SEO strategy allows you to reach prospects in all stages of the buyer journey. You may need to outsource backlink building, though, so you can generate high-quality backlinks.

On the other hand, if you want to promote a new product or a one-time deal, PPC advertising works better. Check valuable SaaS copywriting tips to improve your ad copy and optimize your landing page for lead generation. This is the quick way to boost your products and offers without waiting for SEO practices to take off. Therefore, you increase your click-through rates (CTR) and conversions.

Let’s see specifically the tasks and projects that would benefit from either SEO or PPC:

• New Product Or Service: PPC

• Rebrand: Both

• Funnel Reach: SEO

• Sales: PPC

• Brand Awareness: Both

• Nurturing: Both

• Conversion: Both

• Long-term ROI: SEO

• Short-term ROI: PPC

How To Use SEO And PPC Together

• Use PPC To Promote SEO Content

Your organic content most likely takes hours to complete. For example, our team needs more than ten hours to write, check, and proofread every single blog article. One big reason for that is that we craft articles that search engines love and generate natural quality backlinks. While you can wait for Search Engine Optimization to take effect, you may also combine it with PPC advertising. In this case, it’s not SEO vs. PPC but SEOxPPC. You can start placing ads on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and Quora. These are usually the most active platforms for eLearning and HR audiences.

Who isn’t retargeting their potential buyers nowadays? Let’s say someone clicked on your organic post on Google and was redirected to a landing page about link building services. They stayed on the page for about a minute but left without taking further action. The cookies you’ve set on your page will “follow” that person online. This way, you show them ads regarding your product. Depending on the stage of the buyer journey they are in, the PPC ads can be about free trials, free demos, strategy calls, or buying at a discount. This may sound like privacy infringement to users, which is why most websites ask for their consent upon visiting.

If you don’t feel comfortable doing this task, there are many experienced PPC campaign management services you can delegate to. Let’s say you have a landing page you want to promote. SEO will take months before it starts showing results. Instead of waiting that long, you can run PPC tests. You can use different copy, CTAs, and visuals (if applicable) and see what generates more clicks. Then, you may go to your landing page and optimize it according to your findings. For example, your “Buy Now” CTA button may be less effective than a sleeker “Browse Solutions.”

We can’t talk about a rivalry between SEO vs. PPC when both of them are highly impacted by user experience, mobile friendliness, and relevancy. By fixing these areas, you also perform much-needed SEO AI optimization. On one hand, search engine rankings are significantly impacted by web design and UX. On the other hand, the same attributes strengthen the image and conversion power of your PPC landing pages. So, ensure your pages load quickly and don’t feature heavy images. Also, keep the design simple, without too many CTA buttons. Your language should also be conversational, free from jargon.

• Identifying Long-Tail Keywords

Like we mentioned earlier, it’s not a viable solution to target highly competitive keywords. This goes for both SEO and PPC. Sometimes, keywords with the highest traffic are generic keywords that don’t show much customer intent. When you are trying to reach niche audiences and generate targeted leads, you want to be as specific as possible. So, use a keyword research tool like Ahrefs to identify long-tail key phrases that align with your audience and showcase customer intent. Even if they get one-fifth of the traffic compared to much more popular keywords, your conversions could still increase. Use this data to base your PPC ads on. Imagine if you find a key phrase that no one runs PPC ads on. Everyone searching for it will only find your placement.

This is basically the center of your efforts. How do the people visiting your website after clicking on your links and PPC ads behave? How do they research in your niche? You can understand a lot by just seeing their queries and the keywords they use. The focus may be on features or price. SEO and PPC marketing both benefit from this analysis, as you can craft even better copy for your ads and content for your blog. Maybe you can see which other websites they visit, including competitors and niche directories. You can then visit these sites to see what they do compared to you. Sometimes, you have to look at the competition to improve your efforts.

Generic Vs. Niche PPC Platforms

You all probably know and use some of the most famous PPC platforms, including Google, Bing, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, Taboola, AdRoll, and many more. While they technically offer wide reach, they also have increased competition. To succeed in ranking for valuable keywords, you have to perform an SEO competitor analysis and identify keyword gaps. There is no point in trying to rank for a keyword that is tremendously competitive. Even when you rank for long-tail key phrases, you can’t ensure you’ll get high-quality business leads.

On the other hand, niche eLearning and HR PPC directories like eLearning Industry’s can immediately expose you to corporate buyers actively searching for solutions. They are probably doing research because they need a certain tool. Featuring your business in these directories and investing in a PPC campaign increases your CTR significantly. Instead of getting lost on the last page, you are propelled to the top. Additionally, your placement comes with a clear CTA button and reviews. Remember that customer testimonials play a pivotal role in attracting and converting buyers.

Key Takeaway

SEO vs. PPC is a regular comparison people make in the marketing world. However, these two are not enemies. You don’t have to choose one and discard the other. When used collaboratively, they can elevate your strategy and expand your reach. SEO, especially, continues to be significant for companies that want to rank in AI search engines and boost their traffic even further. Yes, SEO takes time to take effect and requires consistent, high-quality content to make an actual impact. But once it starts working, you can rest assured that it will keep bringing clicks without you having to update your content all the time.

When you want quick results, though, PPC should also be part of your marketing strategy. A seasoned SaaS PPC agency can help you pick the right tactics and put them to work. Targeting the right keywords and placing your bids are essential. Yet, PPC placements stop working once your budget runs dry. That’s why using both SEO and PPC is your best option. The most viable PPC tactic is placing upgraded listings on niche directories. The cost isn’t as high as on Google or Bing, and they are more targeted to your niche.