If you are still familiar with internet marketing, or SEM, here is an overview. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the technique by which a site is enhanced to rank higher in natural searches for certain targeted keywords or phrases. For instance, a business that wishes to increase its ranking for camera bags over the search for “handbags” can write rich content rich product descriptions with this term, revise its web pages to incorporate this text, create keyword enriched ads that include this term, and speed up its site so that it loads more quickly… The result being that it ends up ranking better than the first search result for the same term. The process can be made easier by using techniques such as Pay-Per-Click (PPC), which is the practice of bidding on paid search listings to get your site to the top of search engine results for a given search term.
Pay-per-click (PPC) is a way of using sponsored links in a bid to increase your ranking.
When a user searches for a word or phrase and clicks on a sponsored link, the search engine optimization (SEO) service provider that provided the link buys the ad. This in effect places a banner advertisement on the targeted website for a pre-determined amount, determined by the service provider. This method can be very effective and can increase your rankings rapidly. However, there are downsides to PPC, such as the cost of having these sponsored ads on your site.
It may also be possible for the entrepreneur to become distracted by other ads on his or her site, which makes the user take the advertisement off the search engine optimization site and onto a totally different site. If this happens, the SEO service provider who placed the display ads may start to block the user’s access to their site, and may stop placing any PPC ads on the competitor’s site. If the service provider’s goal is to improve their ranking in the listings, they will need to stop blocking competitors’ sites. The other downside to PPC is that it only offers advertisers a small return on their investment, compared to the potential cost of having customers click on search engine optimization advertisements on competitors’ sites. Thus, if the service provider does not control their costs, and does not place limits on the number of advertisements displayed, they may not be able to provide a good return on their investment.
A related method is called contextual advertising.
Contextual ads, which appear at the top of search results every time the user types a particular keyword, are often displayed on websites owned by the advertiser. These ads are called sponsored links, and the advertiser pays the webmaster the amount of money earned through the ads, regardless of actual conversions to sales. Contextual advertising is only useful for websites with a good user traffic, so they are likely to rank well on the first page of the search results. However, the benefit to these websites is small, compared to the ROI of having contextual ads displayed at the top of the first page of search results.
Another way to improve organic rankings is through the use of pay per click ads, which are usually displayed on the right hand side of the page within Google Search Engine Optimization results. These are known as contextual ads, and they are not driven by the keywords searched, but by the appearance of the ad, such as whether or not it is clear and bold. Thus, if the ad appears to be legitimate and relevant to the user’s needs, they will click on it and increase the website’s position in the result. Pay per click can give small but reliable results, however, and if the website has a large amount of inbound links, it is less likely to be affected by a pay per click ad. Pay per click may also drive visitors to other websites that have the highest organic listings, although those results do not necessarily come first in Google Search Engine Optimization results.
The benefits of this type of marketing are many. Not only does it drive visitors to websites that have not been ranked highly by search engines, but the pay per click advertisements are more likely to be clicked than other ads, which helps boost their popularity. Additionally, digital marketing can help increase a website’s position in search engines for specific keywords. This is done through pay per click ads, which are typically sponsored by large companies with massive budgets. However, with millions of different advertisers competing for digital ads, the quality of each ad can vary greatly. Thus, websites that are competing for a specific digital ad do their best to ensure their ads are high quality and relevant to their site’s content.
AdWords has been designed for those who want to target their own keywords. This is one of the best methods for search engine optimization in existence because it allows a website owner to focus on matching keywords to ads and content rather than trying to match forms, titles, and other generic aspects of a page to specific keywords. This is often the case with paid advertising. However, the benefit of AdWords is that it can match forms to specific keywords, which increases the chances of a visitor clicking on those particular ads. AdWords will also likely include various other forms of optimization, such as image ads, where a user may be encouraged to click on an ad and then be taken to another website, where they may be able to buy products or sign up for a service.
Therefore, the benefits of Search Engine Optimization far outweigh those of Pay per Click. It is important, however, to use both methods in order to maximize the benefits of Search Engine Optimization.
- While it is important to optimize with Search Engine Optimization, it is also vital to pay attention to how you advertise through Search Engine Optimization.
- By strategically matching forms and keywords, an ad campaign can become much more relevant to potential customers and much more inclined to result in a conversion.
- Therefore, the key between SEO vs PPC keyword research is being effective with both methods and focusing on both sides of the spectrum: optimizing with SEO and advertising with Search Engine Optimization.