SEO and Google AdWords have the same purpose – to help your website (company) get better traffic and add value to your business by making it appear on top of the search engine results page (SERP). However, they differ on the “how” part.

In SEO or Search Engine Optimisation, several strategies are employed to make your website rank well on the SERP. Some of these strategies include optimising your website for speed and offering valuable content. For Google AdWords, the process is pretty straightforward. You pay the search engine for your ad to be placed on top of the search engine results page.

Since both strategies can help you achieve your intended goals – appear on the first page of the SERP and increase traffic to your website, which one should you choose? The answer to this question hinges on several factors.

Time

Are you looking to get your website on the first page of the SERP ASAP? If you are, Google AdWords is the logical choice for you. This is because it takes time for an SEO campaign to deliver the targeted result. Realistically speaking, it takes around four to six months before your site appears on the SERP.

In the business world where competition is tough, four to six months is a long time. For some companies, especially startups or those that want to begin their marketing campaign already, what they do is run an AdWords campaign in conjunction with their SEO campaign. This way, they don’t lose valuable time.

Cost

As mentioned earlier, AdWords requires payments. For every click made on a paid search result, it would entail a corresponding cost on your end. So, more clicks on the ad means more expenses for you.

Worried about spending more than what you’ve allotted for this campaign? Don’t be because there are safeguards in place, like setting a daily budget, to prevent large expenses. This daily budget is actually the maximum amount that Google is allowed to charge you on a daily basis. The only caveat of this is that, if you chose a high priced keyword, your ad exposure is going to be limited.

A word of caution: If you’re not able to do an AdWords campaign properly, it can be very expensive and ineffective.

Meanwhile, for SEO, you don’t have to spend anything since you can do the strategies or techniques yourself. You don’t even have to pay to learn about SEO techniques as countless information is readily available online these days. So, if budget is an issue, pick SEO over AdWords.

Effort

SEO may entail minimal monetary investment; however, as it requires continuous work, it demands a lot of time and energy. You have to do numerous tasks and monitor your site’s performance regularly. Doing it can get taxing in the long run which is why some opt to get the services of professionals instead. Obviously, if you are a busy person, you should go for AdWords instead of SEO, unless you’re willing to outsource the service.

So which campaign should you employ for your business? If you need additional information on SEO and/or Google AdWords, give us a call at 019609023 and listen to the inputs of our experts.