SEO Vs PPC – Comparing Two Internet Marketing Strategies
When embarking on an Internet marketing campaign it is wise to compare the main strategies.
Whether you embark on a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) campaign, Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign or a combination of both will depend on your goals and objectives of your Internet marketing campaign. An SEO campaign is more of a long term strategy that is more cost effective but a PPC campaign may work well for a call to action strategy for a new website where immediate results are required which may offset the costs.
Let’s compare SEO and PPC side by side and how this can help your internet marketing campaigns.
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SEO VS PPC |
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| Search Engine Optimisation is the process and art of making a website achieve high rankings on Search Engine results pages (SERPS) for given search terms (keywords). SEO is a strategic, planned exercise. | Pay Per click is where an advertiser bids on keywords associated with their ad in order to achieve higher position on Search Engine results pages (sponsored links section) for searches on that keyword. PPC can be used as a tactical weapon. |
| Organic search results appear in the main search results only when a keyword search relevant to the website is made. | PPC advertisements only appear when relevant to search and only to the right or to the top of the natural (organic search results). This means ads in Search Engines do not generate as much traffic as websites listed in the SERP (Search Engine Results Page). |
| Research shows around 70% internet users click on natural search results. | Research shows only 30% click on paid search results. |
| SEO, when properly done, can have equally long term effects and results – even after stopping work with your SEO company. Stable positions over time result in continuous traffic. | Gives an initial boost in traffic and has a quick turnaround. However, when the PPC campaign is over, traffic stops immediately. |
| Popular keywords may take some time to get rankings – but you will a benefit from longer tail keywords. | Useful for internet campaigns with brand new website, not yet appearing in organic results. |
| With this type of Internet marketing strategy, there may be an initial set-up fee as you engage an SEO company to create an SEO campaign for your business but there is no cost per individual click or visitor. | There is a cost per click or visitor with this Internet marketing campaign. Over time, bids can increase and costs per visitor increase. Each click or each visit to your site carries a cost determined by the keyword targeted (search term).Costs can be as low as a dollar to up to 30, 40, even 50 or more dollars per click depending on how competitive the search term is. |
| Organic rankings are seen to be unbiased and have a higher level of credibility as they are unpaid for. | People tend to trust high organic rankings as they are seen unbiased when they know that PPC spots were paid for. |
| All markets in the geographic get exposure (ie Australia), not just your local area (Sydney). Shows all the time 24 hrs per day. | Can support just your geographic area and can be time specific ie. 11am to 2 pm only Mon to Friday (for midday shopping at work). |
| No direct control over position on page in an Internet marketing campaign. | More control over position on page in an Internet marketing campaign. |
| Changes to titles and description can take up to 14 days to show on the Search Engine Results pages, maybe longer if your site is new. | Title and description changes immediately. |
| Only show on other sites as a link. However, your listing(s) can generate hundreds of visits to your site, at no additional cost. | Can show on other sites as an advertisement at an additional cost to you. |
| Cannot split test pages to see which one is better for a search term. | Can split test pages and track a click-through-rates. |
| You will need an SEO specialist or company to optimise your website for highly competitive keywords. | You can do it yourself – but can’t blame anyone when your ads cost you too much or don’t deliver the intended results for your Internet marketing campaign. |
At the end of the day the choice does remain yours, but in our experience, embarking on a strategic Search Engine Optimisation campaign with a top SEO Company is a better long term, Internet marketing strategy than spending your dollars on every click you get through a Pay Per Click system. Contact us if you would like to know more about Internet marketing and how we can get you more for your marketing dollar.
SEO Company vs an internal SEO Expert
This is a common dilemma faced by businesses who are considering whether they should hire an SEO company or hire an internal SEO expert.
You have invested a lot of money in your web development, allocated funds to advertising and promotion but when it comes to SEO, you are wavering over whether you want to hire an SEO company or use an internal SEO expert. When you weigh up the costs of hiring an SEO consultancy against the potential return on investment, is it false economy to keep your SEO efforts in-house?
Cost effective: Hiring an SEO company may prove more cost effective than hiring a staff member. There is no need to purchase and maintain computer systems, purchase SEO related software or invest in expensive training and development of staff. Office space does not need to be allocated and there are no entitlements or any other costs that a full time employee incurs.
Dedicated SEO expert: By outsourcing your SEO, you have a dedicated SEO expert who is only a call or email away. An internal SEO consultant may work in-house but Search Engine Optimisation may not be their sole role and they may be balancing this task alongside a host of other duties. By commission an SEO company, you are hiring an expert who is solely focused on SEO.
Pool of resources: Outsourcing your search engine optimisation needs to an SEO company means you have instant access to experts with a wealth of knowledge and resources. Not only will the SEO consultant assigned to your website be able to bounce off ideas with others in their team but they may also have access to SEO copywriters and link building strategists.
Knowledge and expertise: By employing an SEO company, you are drawing on their combined knowledge and experience. SEO is a specialised task and part of being a professional SEO expert is devoting a huge chunk of their time to researching new SEO techniques, keeping abreast of industry trends and keeping up to date with changes in Search Engine technology.
Accountability: When using an SEO specialist who is part of an SEO company, they are not only answerable to their clients but they are also accountable to their direct supervisor who is overseeing the SEO campaign. One major problem of in-house SEO is that no one else in the company may have SEO experience and be able to determine whether they are actually doing a good job.
At SEO Works, Search Engine Optimisation is a team effort and your allocated SEO expert is drawing on a large resource pool of SEO consultants, SEO copywriters, link strategists and a Web design team that collaborate to create successful SEO campaigns. Contact us to find out how hiring an SEO company is an investment for your business and how increased exposure and traffic will result in increased revenue.
SEO – Search Engine Optimisation – Online Science Magazines
SEO – Search Engine Optimisation – Online Science Magazines
Popular Science is an online science magazine that provides all the latest developments in Science, Technology, Gadgets, Gear, Cars, & Space. The Australian edition of Popular Science magazine and PopSci.com.au launched in September 2008 and the website was re-developed and re-launched in March 2010.
If you are in the Online Science Magazine business, then you too can benefit from turning up on page 1 of Google for your targeted keyword phrases like this page did for your search…and just like Popular Science does for their keywords. Discover how SEO Works can help you to drive more leads, conversions and revenues online.
The popular science website is full of up to date content with new science and technology articles added daily.
The website is easy to navigate through the main categories and includes articles from Australia and around the world on topics such as:
- Electronic Gadgets & Gear (computers, cameras, games, gamers, home entertainment and mobile phones)
- Concept & New Cars (concepts, hybrids, motoring and new cars)
- Science & Research (animals, energy, environment, health, science projects and social science)
- New Technology (aircraft, military, robots and space)
- DIY Projects (projects, hacks, how 2.0 and tools)
Popular Science is one of the most read online science and technology magazines, so if you are looking to stay ahead of the pack, check out Popular Science for all the insider knowledge and latest developments in science and technology. Online you can choose to:
- Subscribe to the RSS feed of their daily science articles and news;
- Subscribe to the Popular Science magazine;
- Sign up to the Popular Science newsletter; or
- Find the best online advertising solutions for your product or service.
Popular Science is an Online Science Magazine: For all the latest Science and Technology articles, news, ideas and projects; the perfect online portal for tech savvy readers.
This Business Profile is provided as a service to clients of our sister company SEO Works, a leading SEO company providing SEO Services and SEO Packages across a wide range of industry segments for their Google SEO needs. For your SEO Brisbane, SEO Sydney or SEO Melbourne requirements contact SEO Works today.
Google Places – Google gives Google Local Business Centre Listings A Makeover
Google Places page (formerly called Google Local Business Centre Listings) provides even more ways to reach the local market.
Google Places has replaced Google Local Business Centre Listings which will help strengthen the connection to Place Pages. Place Pages were launched by Google in September last year for more than 50 million places around the world. Google has assured owners of verified listings that Google Places will have all the functionality of Google Local Business Centre Listings with a few additional features.
These additional features include the following. Not all features are available to all markets but are being rolled out slowly by Google.
Service areas: On your Google Places page, you can now show which geographic areas you serve which is a major plus. This is a great feature that will allow business to not only reach the area they are based in but the areas their business services. In addition, if you run a business without a storefront or office location such as an online plumbing store, you can have the option of making your address private.
Business photo shoots: Google is offering select businesses in the US, Japan and Australia to take part in a Google business photo shoot where Google photographers come to your business and take photos of your company. These images supplement your Places Page listing and other photos you have uploaded to the page.
Advertising tags: For just US$25 per month, selected businesses in the US can further optimise their Places Page. Tags are yellow markers on Google Maps that highlight important aspects of their business such as coupons, price lists or updated menus.
Customised QR codes: Businesses can download a QR code that’s unique to their business, directly from their dashboard page. QR codes can be placed on business cards or other marketing materials, and customers can scan them with certain smartphones to be taken directly to the mobile version of the Place Page for that business. This is only available in the US market at present.
Favourite Places: Due to popular demand, Google is doing a second print run of decals for the Favorite Places program, and are mailing window decals to 50,000 businesses around the US. These decals also include a QR code that can be scanned with a smartphone to directly view the mobile Place Page for the business to learn more about their great offerings.
With one of five searches on Google related to location, Google Places is important for local search and should be an important part of any internet marketing campaign to reach the local market. So far, four million businesses have claimed their Place Page on Google through the Google Local Business Centre.
Read our article on the Best Practices for Your Google Local Business Centre Listing to find out how you can optimise your Places Page. Google is continually striving to improve the Places Page and since its inception, there has been other improvements such as real-time updates and coupons specially formatted for mobile phones.
You can find out more about Google Places by checking the Lat Long blog or post any questions or feedback. Claiming your Google Places is important for local businesses to increase their visibility in Search Engines and stay relevant in the local market. Contact us to find out more about Google Places formerly known as Google Local Business Centre Listings and how we can help you optimise your listing, increase your ranking and maximise your local revenue.
SEO Health Check – Why an SEO Audit is Important
An SEO audit is not only important for the assessment of a website before optimising (the website) but also for ongoing Search Engine Optimisation.
Optimising a website or doing an SEO audit is like servicing a car; you need to have regular checkups and finetune your car to make sure that it is running properly. Likewise, a website needs to be regularly maintained and tweaked to check and improve the SEO of the website. Google released a report of their SEO to identify potential areas for improvement in Google’s product pages. So isn’t it about time you did an SEO health check of your website?
Competitive keyword selection
Constant monitoring of keyword selection is important for the ongoing optimisation of your website. Realistically, you should do a website analysis and check the keywords you should be targeting every six to 12 months to see if they are the best keywords that you should be aiming for. Find out more about Keyword Research Tools and how you can conduct an SEO audit of your keyword strategy.
SEO copywriting & on page content
It’s always a good idea to go back and check your on page content from time to time and cast a critical eye over your content regularly. Look for opportunities where you can add fresh content to your website and update your content. Websites that are always reviewing, testing, monitoring and rewriting their content achieve strong conversion rates:
Find out more about SEO copywriting and how you can conduct an SEO audit of your copywriting and on page content.
Images
Image SEO is often overlooked on a website but searches on Google Images are also an important referrer of traffic to websites. Always keep in mind that Search Engines cannot read images, they can only read text. This makes optimising images all the more important to maximise every bit of your website SEO. Find out more about image SEO and how you can conduct an SEO audit of your website images.
Link Profile
Link building and maintaining your link profile is an essential part of SEO so checking your profile is an important part of the SEO audit. It’s also important to focus on your link building strategies. To create a natural link profile, you need to check anchor links have different variations, the type of links must include both dofollow and nofollow links and the links pointing to your website must be from a quality website related to your industry that is credible and trustworthy.
Internal link structure
It’s also important to check the links on your pages and how they measure up. The first thing you need to do is check whether there are dead links on the page by seeing what links come up with a 404 error. This is an important part of your SEO audit as Search Engines prefer websites that are well maintained.
Webmaster Tools makes it easier for you to detect whether the 404 errors or crawl errors are limited to your website or from external websites. You’ll have the information you need to contact them to get it fixed, and if needed, you can still put in place redirects on your own site to the appropriate URL.
Site speed
Google recently announced that site speed would be included in the search ranking algorithms. Site speed reflects how quickly each web page responds to web requests. Intensive research on site speed done by Google shows that users have a tendency to spend less time on a site that is running slowly.
Google has also blogged about free tools as part of your SEO audit that you can use to evaluate the speed of your site performance and how this affects your Search Engine ranking. However, while Google sees site speed as relevant, it doesn’t carry as much weight as the relevance of a page in Search Engine rankings.
Contact us to find out how we can conduct a full SEO audit of your website. This may be needed when you have just created a website, if your website suddenly loses traffic or your traffic is not growing steadily. The website analysis starts from a 50 point checklist of your current website, rankings and competitive analysis. From there, we’ll be able to customise an SEO program to suit your needs and budget. Doing an SEO audit of your website is a good risk management strategy and ideally should be done every six to 12 months.
SEO – Search Engine Optimisation – Hotels & Inns
SEO – Search Engine Optimisation – Hotels & Inns
Residing at a hillside overlooking the Green Mountains in Southern Vermont, Windham Hill Inn is located on 160 rural acres just 4.5 hours from New York, 2.5 from Boston and 2 from Hartford. This peaceful heaven features breathtaking panoramic views, extensive gardens and manicured lawns bordered by stone walls, luxurious accommodations and amenities, award-winning dining, and a secluded setting – the perfect backdrop for a special celebration.
If you are in the Hotel & Accommodation business, then you too can benefit from turning up on page 1 of Google for your targeted keyword phrases like this page did for your search…and just like US Hotels Group does for their keywords. Discover how SEO Works can help you to drive more leads, conversions and revenues online.
Windham Hill Inn is one of the best Southern Vermont USA Inns for the perfect escape with a touch of romance…
Targeted keywords:
- Vermont inns
- Luxury Vermont lodging
- Vermont conference venues
- Vermont restaurants
- Things to see and do in Vermont
So if you are looking for the ideal getaway in Southern Vermont… Windham Hill Inn is your best choice! Visit them today and find your own perfect escape while relaxing and unwinding in the picturesque surroundings of Southern Vermont, USA and indulge all your senses!
This Business Profile is provided as a service to clients of our sister company SEO Works, a leading SEO company providing SEO Services and SEO Packages across a wide range of industry segments for their Google SEO needs. For your SEO Brisbane, SEO Sydney or SEO Melbourne requirements contact SEO Works today.
SEO – Search Engine Optimisation – US Hotels
SEO – Search Engine Optimisation – US Hotels Group
Discover the best Maine & Vermont New England luxury hotels, inns & spas offering lavish lodgings in unique locations from the coast to the mountains.
If you are in the Hotel & Accommodation business, then you too can benefit from turning up on page 1 of Google for your targeted keyword phrases like this page did for your search…and just like US Hotels Group does for their keywords. Discover how SEO Works can help you to drive more leads, conversions and revenues online.
About US Hotels Group – Luxury Hotels, Inns & Spas in New England USA
US Hotels Group is a collection of luxury hotels, inns, spas, restaurants & events venue in Maine & Vermont, New England offering impeccable services & indulgent facilities.
The US Hotels Group includes a collection of luxury hotels, inns and spas and beach front family lodges in New England USA. The “Elite Hotels” include the renowned White Barn Inn & Spa in Maine and the Windham Hill Inn, located in Vermont. Restaurants include the AAA Five Diamond, Mobil five star White Barn Inn Restaurant, Grissini Tuscan Italian Bistro and Stripers Seafood Restaurant, serving innovative modern cuisine. The collection also includes a banqueting & conference center, Chase Hill Events.
Targeted keywords…
- New England hotels
- Best New England restaurants
- New England Inns
- New England luxury hotels
- New England Five Star restaurants
- New England getaways
- Honeymoon New England
- Romantic getaways New England
For more info on these fabulous hotels, inns, spas & restaurants in Maine & Vermont, New England USA, contact US Hotels Group today….
SEO Works is proud to deliver SEO Services to US Hotels Group assisting them to raise their online profile and help them to grow their business.
