PPC vs SEO - Machine Zen with a Margin for the Human Condition
Where does SEO begin and PPC end (or visa versa)?
There can be many headaches associated with search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising. There are a few guidelines I follow to avoid the pain of anxiety and uncertainty when attempting to deliver the much needed ROI for your client or employer. The most important thing to remember when you are looking to whoop some SERP-butt with your SEM jitsu is to always, always, always make a profit. Outside of the obvious reasons you would do this, understand that in the SEM game momentum is everything. This is not the kind of thing you want to be getting out of a rut with.
You have to know your audience. Since there is no magic pill that can instantly inform you of accurate search demographics (men vs. women, pro-searchers vs noobs, information driven vs. purchase-oriented or etc.) for your site, you have to make a point to do your due diligence. Whatever that may be. I swear to you I find myself just staring at web analytics hours per week, morning, day and nite.
Which generate more clicks, organic or paid results?
I promise you that if you are asking this question you are probably not delivering 4000% ROI for PPC. A higher quality question would be, “How can I optimize my visibility organically and paid alike”. The daytime of your SEO gives you clarity to the night time of your PPC. What I mean is that both will play an important role when identifying opportunities to improve your campaigns. Normally your paid advertising will produce better results, but this does not have to be the case in ever scenario.
Search behavior can vary depending primarily on demographics of the searcher, the type of products or services being searched for, and of course the engine being searched on. Google, MSN and Yahoo all have different strengths and weaknesses depending on the audience you are going after.
The best scenario would obviously be having an unlimited ad budget and products that have an above average demand. You spend $1, and sell $100. Heaven forbid you having unlimited budget, products in-demand, and proprietary keywords. This scenario should be like shooting fish in a barrel.
I find that ROI for paid advertising will normally out preform any other form of advertising. Paid ads have a definite advantage over organic when it come to needing immediate results. Remember both paid and organic advertising are singing the same song in two part harmony. It’s up to you to make beautiful music.
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