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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    Sprocket Digital
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    4.9
    Based on 135 reviews
    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.
    Lily Richards
    I really enjoy working with Sprocket. I've worked with them on two different projects now; they're data driven, great communicators & listeners as well as extremely good value/above board. They helped us improve our Google quality and conversions by nearly double. I would definitely recommend them.
    Gavin Sheppard
    Ronnie and the team at Sprocket have done an awesome job of understanding what our business needs, and helping to develop the digital marketing strategy for TankMate.
    Sheree Palmer
    Great Team to work with, communication is great and they are actively engaged with working with you.
    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!
    Daisuke Kirihara
    I have been working with Sprocket for about 6 months, and the team has delivered outstanding results, giving us one of the best return for every dollar we spent through them. I have worked with digital agencies across Asia, Europe, and NZ over 15 years, but the ROI improvement I have seen Sophie and the team deliver is best in class. If you are a result-focused marketer who needs an agency to get you results, try letting them run your campaign. It worked great for us.
    cam 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.
    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.
    Sacha Gardner
    Absolute weapons! I called these guys up and advised our quality and quantity of leads were poor. I was introduced to Ethan who has gone above and beyond for us and the results are brilliant. This is a team who will care for your business like their own. Upwards and onwards!
    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.nz
    Casey-lee Cranston
    Sprocket have been awesome to deal with! At Rata Equipment we have seen great results since using Sprocket as an agency. Kieran Fryer has been amazing to deal with. He is very prompt in responding and getting things done and sends great reports on how we are progressing. Would recommend them to anyone!
    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!
    Andrina Shieffelbein
    Sprocket has been amazing for my small buisness! Can't recommend enough if you want results from your advertising!
    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!
    Glenn Walton
    Good people with excerlent skills, lead generation and communication. Thanks Team. Their performance dashboard is also awesome 👌
    Kiwi Duvets Ltd
    We've found Ronnie, Dan and the team at Sprocket to be great so far. Onboarding process was nice and easy, and they have been available at any time to help us with any queries we've had. We're pleased with the results so far and the growth we've seen, and look forward to continuing to grow both the business and our relationship!
    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!
    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.
    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!
    Megan 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 Digital
    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.
    Brent Alexander
    We have been working with Ronnie and the team at Sprocket for a few months now and have been stoked with the results. Super helpful, very responsive to questions and great to work with. Would highly recommend.
    Lance 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.
    Cuddle Me Baby Ltd New Zealand
    We love working with the Team at Sprocket Digital. They really take a personal interest in your business and come up with some fantastic marketing ideas, that have seen our sales grow in just the short time we have been working together. 100% trustworthy and love that they are NZ based and only a phone call away when you need them.
    Chris Sinclair
    Great team to work with, we've experienced growth from day 1 and we're still going! Thank you team Sprocket Digital
    G K Molloy
    Great team, easy to deal with, they listened to my business needs and were able to deliver on my expectations! Thoroughly recommend, they have been really helpful for Alana Estate, navigating the digital world and finding new customers.
    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!
    Pathik Modi
    Started working with Sprocket just before the lockdown this year and have to say I'm very impressed with the level of service, support & results we get from the company. Our account manager, Sophie has been very helpful in making us understand the process at the same time took the time to understand our needs and understood exactly what would help achieve our business goals.Highly recommend!
    Lani Wards
    We own Better to Give . We have only been working with Harry at Sprocket for a few months, but as a brand new E-Comm start up we knew we needed someone who could build our sales with fast and effective campaigns. We are very happy with our progress thus far and look forward to a long prosperous working relationship.
    Louis Chan
    Sprocket have been great to deal with from the start and have brought in great results. Highly recommended :)
    Andrea Cummerfield
    We've been using Sprocket Digital for around 5 months and are really happy with the results. The team is super easy to deal with, nothing's a problem, highly recommend using them!
    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 analytics
    Dylan Lewis
    We have worked with Sprocket since 2017 with two businesses and their service has always been exceptional. Both businesses experienced high growth due to the help from the Sprocket team. Josh has a vast knowledge, has been unbelievably helpful and even helped us out on a few occasions out of office hours. Can't thank him enough. Highly recommend Sprocket for any ecommerce businesses looking to increase their growth.
    Bejoy Jose
    We have been working with Luke and the team at Sprocket for a few years. Sprocket Digital has been great to work with, very knowledgeable team of local digital marketing experts. Highly recommend!
    Andrew Tuioti
    Super pro-active group of professionals. Our sales have doubled in a matter of weeks and looking forward to working with Ronnie, Dan and the team for the for-seeable future.
    Phillip Wards
    Harry and the team at Sprocket have done an amazing job for our start up company. It's been an absolute pleasure having them onboard, pushing our sales and helping make our business what it is today, this has only taken one month. Looking forward to many years to come.Thanks team
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