An Online Strategy Breakdown

rob October 23, 2008 marketing, services, strategy View Comments

I was reading today about The Disconnect in PPC vs. SEO Spending on the SEOmoz blog and found a very interesting conclusion:

Conclusions: SEO drives 75%+ of all search traffic, yet garners less than 15% of marketing budgets for SEM campaigns. PPC receives less than 25% of all search traffic, yet earns 80%+ of SEM campaign budgets.

If you’re unfamiliar with what SEO, PPC, and SEM are, let me quickly explain:

  • SEO = Search Engine Optimization. It’s the marketing disciple of how to get websites to show up high in the search engines’ organic listings (that’s the normal search results you use after a search)
  • PPC = Pay Per Click. It’s the marketing technique where you buy advertisements to show up on the side of a search engine’s sponsored links (that’s the ads sometimes at the top or on the right side of a search results page)
  • SEM = Search Engine Marketing. It’s the Internet marketing strategy that is often a combo of SEO & PPC techniques.

Personally I believe that social media is it’s own discipline inside of an online marketing strategy.

Back to the conclusion that SEOmoz came to: Look at this heat map results from a study of where people typically look on a search results page:

You’ll probably notice that most people look at the first few results in the organic (SEO section) than look at the ads (PPC section).  I’m sure you didn’t need an image to prove it – you already know that from your own use of Google.

So why do companies like to spend the bulk of their budget on something less reliable? I think there is a perception that it’s easier to pay for ads.

It’s tough to show up in the search engines well.  It takes work but is obtainable.  It takes someone who knows what they are doing to optimize a website so that it ranks well.  When you rank well you show authority and relevancy without paying for it.  Most people assume that’s better than someone paying to rank well.  And our experience has taught us that the organic listings are reliable.  It’s just how Google works.

I believe there is a place to use Pay Per Click techniques.  It can work effectively if done well.  That’s why it takes a good overall strategy incorporating SEO, PPC, and Social Media (SM) when appropriate.  It all comes back to your goals and your audience.

If you are ready to be more effective with your website, let us know.  We take a full, overall approach and use what is best for the job.  Not all strategies are created equal so let us help you figure it out and get it done.

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  • http://www.adpropel.com Alex

    I think companies invest in SEM instead of SEO because it’s more measurable. SEO can be a very loose discipline. While there are fewer eyeballs on the paid ads, if traffic is high enough it doesn’t matter. Remember, hundreds of billions of searches are done every year. If you capture a small percent with a sponsored listing you’re doing well.

    And, with the ability to track metrics all the way through conversion, ROI is easy to measure.

    Disclaimer: I have an online marketing technology company and SEM is part of our offering. We actually have a dashboard to manage an array of online marketing tools and services. http://www.adpropel.com

  • http://www.orangejack.com rob

    @Alex – thanks for the comment. There’s no doubt that PPC is more measurable. And I think that is one of the places that PPC belongs, among other places in strategy. However, I still believe that SEO, when done well, is the most effective. If you can rank well organically, then you’re more likely to get quality visitors.

  • Jerry

    And as someone who has spent a lot of money on SEM rather than SEO, I can say that speed is another crucial factor. If you want instant traffic, SEM is the way to go. (Good ads DO take time to write, though.)

    Control is a big factor, too. SEM allows you to control where your listing lands. Even if you rank top on Google’s list one day you might not be on the first page at all the next day.

    Having said that, I would still take a well optimized site over one that relied on SEM for traffic.

  • Anonymous

    I think companies are investing in SEO SEM in place, because it is measurable. SEO can be a very loose discipline. So there’s less control over the paid advertisements, if traffic is high enough, it does not matter. Remember, hundreds of billions of searches each year. If you catch a small percentage with a sponsored listing, you are doing well
     SEO Company India

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