How Do You Compare PPC With SEO? Choose an Integrated Approach in 2022!

• By Shamsher Singh Bhullar

• 10th December 2021

The question of who is better between PPC and SEO is very old. The answer is yet to be found. That’s why you will find that even the official resources of Google answer the question of ‘So should I invest in SEO or PPC?’ saying, “Ultimately, it’s up to you which option is best for your business, but it’s worth considering that both SEO and PPC ads can help in different ways.”

We at Deftsoft agree with that and recommend our clients opt for an integrated approach for search engine marketing in 2022. But, if somehow you have to choose one or both, this post will give you a comparison of PPC with SEO based on factors like cost, quality of traffic, the time required to drive results, etc., that may help you make an informed decision.

Understand the Difference Between PPC and SEO        

First of all, it is important to revise the basics of PPC and SEO. PPC stands for pay-per-click advertising, and SEO stands for search engine optimization. PPC is paid, and SEO is free. The purpose of both PPC and SEO is to feature your website on the first page of the search results.

The first three or four paid results with the label of ‘ad’ you see at the top of the search results are the paid search results, which are a result of the PPC of the website. The rest of the results with no specific label you see in the list are organic search results which are the result of the SEO of the website.

There is an entire process of how to do PPC and how to do SEO. Both are in-depth marketing strategies that require extensive skills and knowledge to implement. There is a range of tools provided by Google such as Google Analytics, Google Adwords and Google Search Console to carefully craft PPC and SEO campaigns. Thus, it often gets complex. Most small and medium-sized businesses hire professional digital marketing agencies to run their marketing campaigns, while many prefer to hire an in-house team.  

Compare PPC with SEO

Cost of the campaign

The first point of comparison is cost. If you try to run a campaign on your own, it is a simple judgement PPC is paid, and SEO is free. But if you are hiring experts, both will cost you. There is a general notion that PPC is expensive and SEO is cheap. But while making decisions, it is the ROI that matters.

For example, if you spend $2 on a PPC ad and you get a $200 sale. It’s a huge return. But as not all ads convert, you have to take into account the conversion rate also. Thus, PPC may not turn out to be expensive.

On the other hand, SEO is considered cheap with less cost per lead. But if you are trying to rank your website for competitive keywords, it may take an entire year to do so. Thus, SEO can turn out to be expensive. In that case, PPC is cheap. Thus, it depends on competitiveness, business needs, and various other factors which strategy will turn out to be inexpensive.      

Quality of traffic  

It is often said that SEO generates more quality traffic than PPC. There is no doubt in that considering the traffic statistics of the five top websites on the search engine result page. However, a highly targeted PPC campaign can bring more quality traffic than SEO.

 It is because SEO is a wider approach than PPC. Your website may rank for multiple keywords and bring traffic in high volumes, which may or may not convert. But in a PPC campaign, you run a campaign around highly targeted keywords that have higher chances of conversions. Thus, PPC can bring a higher quality of traffic than SEO, opposite to the general notion.       

Time to deliver results

It is no secret that SEO takes time and PPC brings immediate results. No doubt it is true, but the PPC aficionados never look at the downside of the fact the moment you stop paying Google for the ads, you disappear from the search engine. That’s where brands remember SEO. If they had done the SEO, their website would have been there even when they were not paying anyone to do it. Because once you feature in the organic search results, you stay there for a long time. SEO efforts keep bringing you traffic for a long time.

If you know the basics of SEO, you can even stop paying your SEO expert once you are stable at search engine rankings. However, experts do not recommend that, considering Google search engine result listings keep updating and other websites working on the same keywords to rank.

Integrated approach

The paradox of PPC and SEO has been becoming more and more complex day by day. That’s why experts often recommend an integrated approach. It involves using the benefits of both worlds. Whether or not it is right, it too depends on the business needs.

For example, if you are a niche-based e-commerce store that has to beat competitors like Amazon, eBay, and Best Buy, you need a combination of both strategies to beat them, and you can do that with a well-crafted strategy. On the other hand, if you are a small grocery store that wants to target a locality, there is no need to go for both strategies. Only SEO will be enough for you.

Similarly, if you are a well-known fashion store in the city and planning to increase foot traffic for season-based sales, you can run a PPC campaign to immediately target your audience.  

Thus, the choice of the SEO, PPC or integrated approach depends entirely on the business needs, budget, and resources.

It is best to let experts analyze your business, understand your business objectives and recommend you the right solution for search engine marketing in 2022.

Need help deciding a campaign for search engine marketing for your company? Get in touch with Deftsoft‘s search engine marketing experts to find a comprehensive solution for your business within the budget.