Understanding Pay-per-click.

Our view on Pay-per-click and Organic Search 

Pay-per-click (PPC) is a tempting marketing tool for website traffic.  You see it everywhere, so why not do it – right?  Maybe.  It’s easy to part with some money quickly and get some clicks.  But sellers of PPC rank right up there with used car sales staff.  They get their money immediately; you don’t know until later what you got for it. 

1. Credibility: Users view organic search results as more credible and trustworthy since they are not paid for. People tend to trust websites that appear at the top of organic search results more than those in paid ads.

2. Location, location, location: Clicks can be randomly placed and randomly clicked.  Placement is everything.  If you’re running an HVAC business in Phoenix, an ad on a bus bench in Omaha won’t do you any good.  Now imagine you’re paying for every vehicle that drives by the bus bench.  You can spend a ton of money and get zero returns.  SEO focuses on the location of your website in the precious SEO results.  What is the value to your business of being on page 8 instead of page 32? 

3. Long-term benefits: Organic SEO provides long-term benefits in terms of search engine visibility. Once your website achieves a high organic ranking, it can continue to attract traffic and generate leads over time without ongoing advertising spend.

4. Ad fraud: Click fraud is a significant issue in the PPC industry. Advertisers may pay for clicks generated by bots or fraudulent actors, leading to wasted ad spend. Click fraud involves repeatedly clicking on an advertiser’s ad without the intention of engaging with the content or making a purchase. This fraudulent activity can be challenging to detect and result in significant financial losses for your business. 

5. Value: PPC can be expensive, especially for competitive keywords, and the advertising cost can quickly increase, making it difficult for small businesses to compete with companies with bigger advertising budgets. On the other hand, organic SEO can be more cost-effective over the long term since it doesn’t require ongoing advertising spend.

PPC and SEO both require expertise – but different types of experience.  If your website is essential to your business, don’t get tempted by a flash in the pan.  Invest in what will provide returns for the longer term. 

Please reach out to us so we can help you with your goals.