In this era of cutthroat competition, it is imperative for businesses to adopt different effective and unique marketing strategies to promote their products and services. Acknowledging this fact, many businesses have begun judicious use of internet marketing. There are many effective techniques for online marketing, but this article will focus on the main two: Organic SEO and Sponsored Links. So, which one is the better option for you? Well, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each to find out:
Organic SEO
Organic Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) means optimising a web page to ‘naturally’ occur in search engine result pages (SERPs). It helps businesses attract customers to their websites, resulting in increased online transactions and revenue.
Pros
- Free Flow of Targeted Traffic – Organic SEO utilises ethical SEO techniques to boost page rankings, thus allowing you to take advantage of a continuous flow of free and targeted ‘natural’ traffic.
- More Leads and Clicks – Organic SEO can keep your site appearing in the SERPs for a long time if used successfully. This allows you to gain a boost in web traffic, hence leading to increased number of leads and clicks.
- Better Brand Exposure – Once your site is listed in the top search results of Google you receive natural traffic. And this gives you more exposure and increases awareness of your brand.
- Cost-Effective – With organic SEO, there is a low initial cost, and that too keeps decreasing as SEO is an on-going marketing technique.
Cons
- Results Take Time – The most noticeable drawback of organic SEO is it takes time to show results.
- Risk of Being Penalised – If, by any chance, Google catches any website using un-ethical SEO techniques, there is a risk of a penalty.
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links or Paid Search Results, also known as pay-per-click advertising (PPC), is a process by which businesses pay search engines to get their ad listed among the top search results. The position of your ads mainly depends on Google’s quality score of your site.
Pros
- Guaranteed Placement of Ads – Using sponsored links guarantees the placement of your ads on the first page of Google, hence allowing you to attract more traffic.
- Location Targeting – Using sponsored links enables businesses to target their audience with regards to location, hence resulting in targeted traffic.
- Control of Visitors’ Experience – Sponsored Links grant businesses the ability to choose the exact page they want to link to specific queries.
Cons
- Visibility Doesn’t Mean Conversions – There is absolutely no guarantee a consumer clicking your ad will become a customer. However, you still have to pay Google for the click even if you cannot convert.
- ‘Click Fraud’ is Risky – Competitors can click on your ads till your marketing budget runs out and your ad vanishes. There is an additional risk of accidental clicks too.
- Expensive – Sponsored links require a huge advertising budget that only large organisations and enterprises can afford.
The winner – Organic SEO! It requires low capital investment, produces ‘natural’ traffic, grants better exposure, and provides a better ROI.
