Studies have discovered that more than 90% of all online experiences start with a search engine!
The Internet has long been the most popular venue in the world for business. Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, people are looking more and more to the digital world for the products and services that they want to buy.
Of course, that has led to online businesses trying to choose between SEO and alternatives like Google search ads. Paid search ads are easy to set up, so many people wonder if a Google Ads digital marketing strategy might be the right way to go.
On the other hand, there are a lot of advantages that come with search engine optimisation. What's the best choice in our post-pandemic world?
Read on to learn all about the most important things to understand about these two digital marketing strategies, and how they might work together as part of your overall marketing strategy!
How SEO Works
Comparing SEO versus Google Ads starts with understanding exactly how SEO works. Search engine optimisation is all about appealing to search engine algorithms.
Search engine algorithms use complicated systems to judge how "good" a website is. They account for literally hundreds of different factors. After they have weighed up everything relevant about each webpage, they rank web pages from best to worst.
Ending up on the top of search engine results is an extremely big deal. Most people use search engines to look for new products or services they are interested in. Almost all of the organic growth a business enjoys on search engines is the result of being on the front page of Google.
On top of that, being one of the top three results on the first page of Google search engine results will put you far ahead of all the other results on the front page. There are other search engines, but Google has the vast majority of the market share.
Search engine optimisation allows you to score very highly on the Google search engine algorithm. It works by adjusting the words used on your web pages. In particular, it understands the optimal placement of words in titles, headers, subheaders, and the different sections of text on a given page.
The Benefits of Google Ads
On the other hand, when your marketing business is online, you might also consider Google Ads. For a price, Google will put you on their front page even if your search engine optimisation is not the best.
In fact, there is a certain sense in which Google Ads outcompete search engine optimisation. You can end up on the very top of the front page of results, beating out every other website, no matter how good their search engine optimisation is.
Naturally, you have to pay for this premium listing. And you have to pay continually in order to maintain your place.
This is one of the big disadvantages of using Google Ads. Even if you take the number one slot on the front page by paying for that privilege, the number two and three slots that organically appear on the front page of Google will enjoy similar success. And they will enjoy that success permanently, whereas you will enjoy it only as long as you continue to pay.
On top of that, the advantages of being on the front page of Google will be less for you since you have higher expenses from paying for ads.
Choosing the Right Digital Marketing Strategy
In many cases, the ideal digital marketing strategy is a combination of search engine optimisation and paid ads. This is especially true for new companies. When a company is just starting out, it is almost impossible for it to reach the front page of Google.
When you think about it, this makes a lot of sense. Other companies have spent huge amounts of money hiring experts to make sure that their search engine optimisation is the best in the business.
You can eventually compete with that, but it will take time. In the meanwhile, you will not enjoy any organic growth from people searching for things on Google. That is, you will not enjoy growth unless you use paid ads.
Paid ads can be the right way to get some initial momentum for your business while you are waiting for your search engine optimisation to get up to speed.
On top of that, paid ads are more reliable. It is always a little bit of a guessing game whether or not you will improve your search engine ranking when you make an adjustment to your web pages, and how long it will take.
On the other hand, paid ads are extremely predictable. All you have to do is pay a certain amount of money, and you know that you will end up on the front page of Google.
This also makes paid ads a good choice when you need results quickly. If you cannot wait for your search engine optimisation to gain organic growth for you, then you might want to start with some paid ads.
Combining SEO and Google Ads
Despite their differences, you will eventually want to rely mostly on search engine optimisation. Search engine optimisation is a permanent change that will last for years without costing you after the initial setup. Whereas Google Ads will be a regular monthly cost for your business to maintain your Google page ranking.
The right company can combine both of these strategies to get you maximum results, on your terms.
Understand the Advantages of SEO
We hope that some of the ideas in this brief article about the advantages of SEO compared to Google search ads have been helpful for you. Many people find paid search ads to be extremely easy to set up. However, Google Ads strategies cannot substitute for the right kind of search engine optimisation.
To learn more about the importance of search engine optimisation or what we might be able to do for your venture, feel free to reach out and get in touch with us here at any time!
