SEO or PPC

As a digital marketer at a small or medium sized business, you may wonder which marketing strategy is best, search engine optimisation (SEO) or pay-per-click (PPC). When it comes time to decide on how to invest your time and money in marketing, it's important to be informed. Read on to learn about the pros and cons of each strategy, so you can make the best decision.

Search Engine Optimisation

Many marketers are familiar with SEO as a marketing strategy. It uses keywords to bring organic traffic to your site via search engines. There are many great things about SEO, including:

Increased visibility - when your business appears at the top of search engine results, it puts you in front of more potential customers, and increases awareness of your brand. It can make you look like the expert in your industry and helps to lift your brand awareness online. Appearing at the top of search engine results will also generate more site visits, which can lead to a boost in your conversion rate.

Return on investment - organic traffic can improve your ROI more than other paid forms of advertising and will generally also be more cost-effective.

Building authority - SEO is great for niche sites where the keywords aren't very competitive. Using the right keywords will generate tons of traffic and make your brand the top expert in your niche.

However, SEO does have some drawbacks. First, it isn't instant - you have to wait a while for the traffic to start trickling in. And SEO doesn't work well with highly competitive keywords, so if you're competing with sites like Amazon or eBay, you might want to look for a different strategy.

In addition, sometimes search engine algorithms change, which may leave you scrambling to figure out how to adjust your keywords and content.

Pay-Per-Click

PPC platforms like Google AdWords allow businesses to bid to have their ads appear among the paid results when someone searches a term that includes your keywords. There are some really helpful advantages to PPC, like:

Instant results - from the moment your ad campaign goes live, it will be visible to your audience. If you need to get a lot of traffic in a short amount of time, PPC is the way to go.

Targeting your traffic - PPC allows you to target the right consumers for your business. This will help achieve the best results.

Appearing at the top - PPC ads can appear above the organic results on a search engine, which means that you'll be the first thing that users see.

Great for product launches - PPC is a great short-term solution for getting lots of visitors to your site, which is great if you're launching a new product, or holding a time-sensitive promotion.

PPC, though, will not increase your organic traffic, and it might not be idea for everyone's budget. Bidding wars with competitors can drive up the cost of the ads, making them unattainable for some. And as soon as the ads end, so do the visitors to your site.

Which to Choose?

Now that you know a little about each type of strategy, you can make better decisions around what is best for you. Take into account your budget, audience and objective. It doesn't always have to be either one or the other. You can blend PPC and SEO in a way that works best for your business. For more information, contact the Team at Sprocket to schedule a consultation.

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    Nudi Point ★★★★★ FINALLY... a digital marketing company that actually gets the results. This is the 5th business I have dealt with in the last 7 years - and the only business that has proven results. Our sales have increased hugely and it's only been 1 month. Harry is amazing to work with and the whole team at Sprocket Digital know exactly what they're doing. The results speak for themselves. Highly recommend!Maggie from Astound Smile ★★★★★ We have worked with a couple of other agencies that did not deliver and I'm impressed with the level of service, support & results we get from Sprocket. Within a few weeks of working with Sprocket, we can see immediate improvement on our sales. Harry and the team has taken the time to understand our business and continue to work on delivering results. We look forward to continue working with Sprocket to grow our business. If you are looking for a result-focused agency, you can't go wrong with Sprocket!Beautiful You Holidays ★★★★★ Covid lockdowns meant complete operational shut down for our small NZ owned business. However, in the last few months we have finally got back up and running again with the help from Josh and his Sprocket team.Their understanding, resources and communication has been unwavering in this process and we have seen measurable results month on month. Trust plays a big role in digital marketing and I believe their formula is full proof.Sprocket has had a big role to play in getting our small business back on it's feet. I couldn't recommend this company enough!NZ-Online-Pharmacy ★★★★★ The results speak for themselves. Our website has been lifted to the next level, in both hits & resulting translations into physical orders. Thanks Kieran & Team!Ketaki Rasmussen ★★★★★ Sprocket has experts who can take your digital marketing to the next level, and you get personalised service with a dedicated account manager to help you achieve growth. Great to deal with.Speednation ★★★★★ Outstanding, the team at Sprocket have been tremendous, and taken our store to the next level. Ronnie and the team are on to it and get things done quickly to a high standard. If you are looking for a marketing team, this is your one stop shop for all your marketing needs!Team at Speednation.co.nzcam scott ★★★★★ So far all of my requests from Sprocket Digital have been handled very professionally and timely. I am really enjoying the level of communication and how easily approachable the team is.Andrina Shieffelbein ★★★★★ Sprocket has been amazing for my small buisness! Can't recommend enough if you want results from your advertising!Meelee Joe ★★★★★ Great working with the team at Sprocket Digital! We found the company friendly, accomodating, and they helped us to develop our knowledge of the business analyticsLance Metz ★★★★★ Sprocket has been an incredible digital marketing partner, helping us grow our monthly turnover. They are extremely helpful and are quick to respond to any needs we may have. I would highly recommend for any company looking to take on a digital transformation journey.Matt Boylan ★★★★★ This is the second time I have used Sprocket Digital in my role as Marketing Manager for small to medium sized businesses. Given our marketing team is very small and we don't have a specific digital marketing resource internally, it gives me peace of mind knowing that all our digital needs are being outsourced to Sprocket. On both occasions of working with Sprocket, the team have very quickly got up to speed on our business. The setup is seamless and my regular meetings with the team help to identify opportunities for us to leverage. The entire team are really knowledgeable and down to earth even though they have some very experienced people working on our account. I would highly recommend Sprocket to any other business who wants expert advice and guidance on their digital marketing with an accessible and down to earth approach.Dylan Carter ★★★★★ Sprocket Digital is the real deal! They have turned our company around in our initial month of working with them and I could not recommend them more.The team is super helpful always making the time to have meetings with us and answer our endless amounts of questions.We are looking forwarded to working with them for the long term!Richie Stott ★★★★★ It has been a seamless transition to Sprocket and they have delivered on the goods. Very happy with the service and results. Our account manager, Kieran is great to deal with.Chris Sinclair ★★★★★ Great team to work with, we've experienced growth from day 1 and we're still going! Thank you team Sprocket DigitalMegan Blincoe ★★★★★ We are a new Client of Sprocket and I cannot fault them! Especially Ethan, he has been so available and clearly knows what he's talking about. He has been very patient with us and has thoroughly updated and explained every part of the set up and progress to date. Highly recommend using Sprocket DigitalAlastair Pope ★★★★★ Harry and the Sprocket team have been amazing in connecting with and successfully converting a new audience for our business. During these challenging economic conditions, the additional revenue they've generated has proven to be invaluable. Their professional, transparent, and data-driven approach has rekindled my confidence in the agency model.Josef Arnet ★★★★★ Sprocket Digital has been great to work with and has provided great inside and addition to the digital side of our business (Kitchen Things) their SEO team is fantastic and Harrison their Email marketing specialist is an absolute savant when it comes to knowing how set up email campaigns, templates as well as automatic email flows and the logic required to make them impactful and effective for a business. They always continue to impress with the work they do.Gabi Metz ★★★★★ Working with Sprocket has been so easy! Like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders. And the results so far have been fantastic!Sheree Palmer ★★★★★ Great Team to work with, communication is great and they are actively engaged with working with you.js_loader

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