Both PPC and SEO are highly effective online marketing strategies. Traditionally, the cost of SEO is lower and generates stronger longevity, and the effect of PPC is optimal if the results are required in a short period and provide more control over reaching the result. When you have to pick one of them, your choice should be SEO. Ideally, however, both of these strategies should somehow be combined by your company.

What is SEO?

Search engine optimization or SEO, is any form of action a person or business takes to increase the visibility of his or her site in organic search results. Search engines such as Google and Bing rank pages by optimizing content, a website's structure, and those of other technical nature, placing it above any competitor for natural clicks rather than acquiring them via payment.

Main Components of SEO:

On-page optimization (keywords, meta tags, content quality)
Off-page SEO (backlinking, social signalization)
Technical SEO (site speed, mobile-friendliness, crawlability)

SEO is a naturally lengthy process but its impact is on the long run.As soon as your pages are top-ranked, you will get organic traffic on a regular basis at low rates of consistency, spending money.

What is PPC?

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) is displayed in a form of digital advertising that bills the advertiser when the user clicks their advertisement. Google Ads is most commonly used to conduct PPC, but Bing Ads and a couple of social sites (such as Facebook and LinkedIn) provide paid advertising service as well.

With ppc in digital marketing, your ads can start appearing above organic results for selected keywords. Whereas SEO gives results over time, PPC provides instant gratification in terms of visibility and traffic, which is best for time-sensitive promotions or launches of new products.

Main Elements of PPC:

Keyword bidding
Ad creation and targeting
Landing page optimization
Budget management and analytics

Key Difference Between SEO and PPC Marketing:

1. Cost:

SEO needs an upfront investment in content production and site optimization. It does not charge per each click of usage but gradually becomes more economical.
PPC on the other side requires money to be spent continuously. You have to pay for every click and once your budget halts, your visibility disappears.

2. Speed of Results:

In general, SEO is a long term strategy. It can take 3-6 months (or longer) before the strategy starts to bear any significant fruits.
As SEO is long-term, PPC is famous to provide fast visibility and traffic, making the campaigns short.

3. Sustainability:

After ranking organically due to SEO, low but continuous investment will ensure a steady flow of traffic.
With PPC, the moment you stop paying, traffic stops. No residual effects.

4. Trust and Credibility:

SEO is more trusted by users as it is perceived to be more reliable than adverts.
They can pass over the ads easily when they can see they are ads and prefer organic listings.

5. Click-Through Rate (CTR):

In the long haul, SEO earns a higher CTR with its trust and relevance.
Compared to SEO, PPC CTR can actually be lower, yet very specific targeted ads may deliver very well.

6. Control and Flexibility:

SEO is less flexible in the controls, when and where it displays the content as it is algorithm dependent.
PPC is necessary to have the complete control over targeting, timing, placements and budget.

7. Testing and Optimization:

SEO testing is slow, with results taking time to show.
PPC allows rapid Ad/A/B testing of ads, landing pages, and keywords for quicker optimization.

8. Ideal Use Case:

SEO is mainly needed for long-term traffic, hence brand building, as well as content driven marketing.
PPC is perfect for short-time promotions, lead generation, and testing new offers.

SEO or PPC Marketing: When to Use Each

Whether to use one or the other, or perhaps a combination of the two would be best, may be a question you want to consider in cases like these.

Choose SEO,If:

You wish to build long-lasting, sustainable traffic.
You can spare time for content and optimization.
There's a small budget to spend, but you can wait for results.

Choose PPC, If:

You require traffic and visibility instantly.
You are working on a new project or service.
There is a big budget for marketing to earn fast feedback.

Conclusion:

As far as the choice between SEO vs PPC marketing is concerned, the one-size-fits all answer does not exist. Both of them have their merits, and the most appropriate one is determined by what you intend to do with your business, at what time, and how much money you can afford. The integrated holistic digital marketing approach would be to utilize both the organic search and the paid search.

Not yet certain what one fits you better? Explore your short term needs and long term objectives, research your financial resources and you should not be afraid of using a trial error method to determine which of the two approaches yields the best returns. You could literally manage to make it through in the competitive landscape of business in the digital world.