Merits of pay per click (PPC) advertising versus natural Search

Submitted by wilgrace on Tue, 03/25/2008 - 19:04.

Pay Per Click

This article compares the relative merits of pay per click advertising versus (PPC) natural or organic Search engine optimisation (SEO).

Natural or organic Search (SEO).

These listings are the displayed listing results from a search engine query which are displayed in a sequence according to relevance of match between the keyword phrase typed into a search engine and a web page according to a ranking algorithm used by the search engine.

The method for achieving placement in this part of the page is called natural or organic search engine optimization (SEO).

Pay per click (PPC) results pay per click.

This is defined as the purchase of clicks relevant ad (typically a text ad) with a link to a destination page which is displayed when the user of a search engine types in a specific phrase. A fee is charged for every click of each link, with the amount bid for the click the main factor determining its position.
Google Adwords also uses a Quality Score based on ad clickthrough rate and engagement with site.

This known as the Paid or pay per click results.

Current spend ratios:

A recent Search marketing report by published by Econsultancy showed that 11% of all Search Marketing advertising is spent on natural SEO, with the bulk, 83%, spent on PPC advertising. It is known that PPC conversions often increase in conjunction with optimisation of a site.

Benefits of Organic/Natural SEO Versus PPC:

So what are the respective benefits of each strategy as part of an overall search marketing plan:
Organic/Natural SEO:

1. Natural SEO delivers large volumes of clicks

According to JupiterResearch, 87 percent of commercial clicks on the major search engines take place on the natural (or "organic") results. It is also a well known fact that search users opt for organic listings to sponsored listings in most cases. Once you have your site optimised properly and listed in the Search Engines you can be rest assured to receive long lasting quality traffic. With organic SEO methods you can add value to branding and increase visibility in the search engine rankings with much lesser outgoings. Reports say that click through rate on Organic listings is upto 70%.

2. Natural SEO deliver longer term profitability

Natural or Organic search engine optimisation is a lengthy stressful process involving Content writing, on page optimisation and link building. But if you are looking for long time profitability then organic seo is a must and will enable your site to stand out among other ppc competitors. In most cases you will only need to pay one time upfront fee unlike pay per click advertising.