I keep hearing people say they’ve dropped conventional SEO for Pay Per Click (Google Adwords and Overture). Their reasons generally centre on paying only for what they receive, being able to control expenditure, and getting some nice reports every month.
They don’t realise the dangers of such an uninformed decision.
Using PPC to buy traffic
Unfortunately, too many Web sites are using PPC merely to buy transient traffic. Their owners pay every time the mouse clicks on their link, and there’s no long-term benefit. One click, a payment, and without the right kind of Web site at the receiving end, that’s it. Time moves on, and there’s no lasting value.
You can probably now see how PPC can become no more than an overhead, supplying a certain level of traffic for the market price of those clicks. Remember that, at its heart, PPC is an auction, and the increasing popularity of PPC is pushing up prices. In many cases that we’ve examined, the market is pushing prices above the level where a workable ROI can be expected.
Organic SEO generally offers better value
The alternative – Organic SEO – offers a very different model for its month-by-month expenditure. In contrast to the short-lived benefits of PPC, every relevant incoming link that’s put in place helps build the long-term success of the site.
While a small number of links are undoubtedly short-lived, most remain in place for months, and normally years. They each continue to contribute to Page Rank and hence to better search engine positioning, and also in a smaller way, contribute to incoming traffic by acting as a conduit themselves.
For most sites we look at, linking makes a very persuasive case for itself.
What we recommend PPC for
The case for PPC is actually clear-cut. It’s great for:
1. Launching a site, when the client can’t wait for Organic SEO measures to kick in
2. Supporting a specific, such as a product or service launch, or an event
3. When there is a rigorously proven ROI – you’ll almost certainly need to be selling a product or service directly from the site
But don’t use it just to buy traffic.
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