Most successful online businesses typically aim to make maximum profits. To reach this goal, these businesses greatly rely on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and PPC (Pay Per Click) to drive traffic. The more people that visit your site, the better your chances of making sales.

Both SEO and PPC advertising offer profitable result. However, there are many notable differences between the two, thus choosing the right one for your campaign is vital.

In order to choose, you need to first understand what they are and why they are different.

Why Choose SEO

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and as its name suggests, it targets organic search engine results. Before choosing to market your business with SEO, here are a few things to factor into your decision:

•  It’s free
•  80% of website traffic comes from search engines
•  Getting to the first page of search engines mean sustained traffic.

Keep in mind that since SEO is a free strategy, the competition will be extremely fierce. You won’t be the only one utilizing SEO, so you’ll need to up your game. Improve your website’s functionality and aesthetics, as well as be consistent with your posts.

When to Choose SEO

The right marketing tool to use strongly depends on what kind of company you run and what goals you’ve set for the future. Below are more scenarios wherein SEO will be the better choice:

• You’d rather invest time and effort to get results in the long run, instead of paying money for quick results.
• When you want to increase your website’s value.
•  Reaching the first page of a search engine means that you get sustained traffic.

Why Choose PPC

To use PPC, you’ll need to dish out some cash to get results.

Unlike SEO that depends on consistently posting new content, PPC is a method that will get your website on the first page of a search engine through bidding. Here are a few handy things to know about PPC.

• You need to bid a certain amount for your ads to appear in the “sponsored results” section of search engines.
• You pay for every person who clicks on your promoted campaign.
• Examples of PPC tools include Google AdWords, Yahoo Advertising, and Facebook Promotions.

When to Choose PPC

If you are willing to spend money to generate traffic to your website, PPC is the way to go. Here are more circumstances wherein PPC will be the better marketing tool.

•  You want immediate results.
•  You want to target a specific age group, income bracket, and other demographics.
•  If you’re aiming for keyword domination since the top 3 sponsored links on a search engine results page receives 50% of the traffic.
• When you are promoting an event or limited-time offer.

Choosing the right marketing method for your company may seem like a big and heavy decision to make on your part. However, don’t think of PPC and SEO as competitors since they are actually complimentary. If you are able to do both, then you are certain to get way better results compared to what you will get by choosing only one.