Difference Between Pay-Per-Click and SEO
There are 2 ways to get the to top of search engine results.
There are two ways to get to the top of search engines, both of which have merit. Pay-per-click is the fast, easy and expensive way to get to the top. Natural search engine optimization is a long-term, less expensive and longer-lasting way of getting top results. Any good web marketing plan usually incorporates both, as well as a number of other traffic-driving methods.
1. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) - This is when you pay Adwords or Overture each time someone clicks on your site. This per-click costs is auctioned to you and your competitors. Whoever is willing to pay the highest, gets the best search positions. These results show on the very top and the right side of the screen.
2. Natural SEO - (Natural Search Engine Optimization) Natural SEO occurs when your website is so darn good it naturally floats to the top of search results. Simply put, Google is searching for good sites to put into it's natural search results category.
Natural SEO Results are in the center of the page. Statistics show that natural results are clicked more often than PPC links because of the higher relevancy of natural results to the searcher's query. In short, SEO sites have to work much harder to get to the top. PPC results paid their way and are almost never as relevant to the search as are the natural SEO counterparts.
Comparison of PPC with Natural SEO
Pay-Per-Click |
Natural SEO |
| Immediate results | Long-term results |
| Must pay per click | No charge per click |
| No optimization needed | Website must be optimized |
| Temporary results | Lasting results |
| Website must convert | Website must convert |
Pay-Per-Click + SEO
SEO and pay-per-click together are a common solution for our clients. The PPC is more of a "quick fix" to start generating leads while waiting on the longer-term SEO to work.
