One of the most common questions we hear from business owners is, “What’s the difference between Pay-Per-Click and SEO?” This is a vital question. The distinction between PPC and SEO can mean the difference between appearing right under a customer’s nose or being buried in a list of search results.
SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It refers to helping your website appear higher in the “organic results” – the regular search results when people run an Internet search. But it is unpredictable just how well paying money to an SEO company will help your website’s ranking. And even if your website is high in the organic results, it will still most likely be below the PPC ads that appear.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
Pay-Per-Click, sometimes referred to as PPC, refers to the paid ads that appear when you run a search on Google or Bing. These ads often appear as the first few results in a search result list. Check out this example …
Pay-Per-Click ads can appear right at the top of search results. As Rachelle Riess-Scoles says, “When properly managed, PPC is the most predictable, measurable and responsive form of Internet marketing. It’s an effective way to quickly place your organization in front of your targeted audience by paying for your ads to appear.”
Certain factors do affect how high your ads will show up. Keywords, landing page quality, and bids all play a role. But an effective ad agency can help your ads appear at an optimal position. Pay-Per-Click can help your message appear where customers look first.
Interested in learning more? Contact Rachelle Riess-Scoles at (269) 209-2201 or Jody Nelson at (612) 483-0600. We are passionate about helping you use accountable, trackable digital marketing to reach your customers.