2013-12-18



When it comes to online marketing, there are just so many different ways to go. You can invest in social media marketing, content marketing, email marketing, mobile marketing, search engine optimization, paid search, and more. If you have the budget to pursue of these strategies, go for it! After all, each of these options will put you in touch with people who are interested in what you have to offer. 

If you have a limited budget, a great place to start is search engine marketing (SEM). SEM is great because most people use search engines like Google and Bing to find products and services they want.

When it comes to SEM, the two most common types of advertising avenues are paid search (PPC) and search engine optimization (SEO). Determining which one of these will work best for you depends on a few things. In order to get the right balance between PPC or SEO, ask yourself these questions:

1. Where do I currently appear in the organic listings for relevant search results?

If you search for a keyword on Google that is relevant to your website, and you can’t find yourself on the first page, then SEO is a good bet for you. Statistics show that nearly 80% of Internet searchers won’t click past the first page to find what they are looking for. Yeah, you may want to read that again. If you’re not on the first page of the search results, then you better do what it takes to get there. But if you’re already there, consider looking into other advertising options.

2. Do I show up in local results?

Google is putting more and more emphasis on returning local results to searchers. One of the great things about SEO is that you’ll show up in the listings for geographically targeted keywords. But if you type in a relevant keyword with your geographical location added to the search box and only your competitors show up, it’s time to invest in SEO with Maps optimization as well.

3. How much search volume is there?

Here’s the honest truth: you can measure the amount of success you may have before investing in SEO by getting an estimate of how many people are searching for keywords relevant to your website. If lots of people are searching for those words, it can mean a huge opportunity to receive new customers at an very low price. If hardly anyone is searching, it may be better to put up a billboard in your local area or look into a small paid search campaign.

4. What is the average cost per click (CPC) for relevant keywords?

For a paid search campaign, find out how much it’s going to cost you to receive the amount of clicks you want. A representative from OrangeSoda can help you find this information, or you can do a little research on your own. Once you determine how much a targeted click will cost you, you can decide whether or not it’s worth it to invest in paid search. The great thing about paid search is you only have to pay for ads that people actually click on, and most people will only click on your ad if they are genuinely interested in your product. As a result, paid search ads have a much higher conversion rate than organic clicks.

As you can see, there are a number of different factors that will help you determine where to place your advertising budget. For more information about what campaign will work best for you, contact us today at OrangeSoda.

The post Should I Focus More on PPC or SEO? appeared first on OrangeSoda.

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