It’s the age-old debate: SEO vs paid ads – which is better and why?
Which is better?
SEO.
Why?
That’s what this article will explain.
Specifically, there are 6 reasons why SEO is better than paid ads every single time.
So, keeping this intro short and sweet, they are as follows…
1. SEO Is More Trustworthy That Paid Ads
Trust is one of the most important things a brand must earn from visitors if they are to turn into buyers.
When searchers see paid ads, they look exactly what they are: adverts.
People are far more aware of the search results in Google nowadays. They know, more or less, than the top results are viewed the most and get the most clicks.
Ads, on the other hand, can be seen as jumping the queue, rather than actually providing value to the customer.
This is why SEO is better than paid ads. Since they have done all the right things to get to the top, including having high-quality content, they will gain the trust of visitors far easier compared to PPC.
2. SEO Is A Long-Term Solution; Paid Ads Are Short-Term Only
One of the main purposes of content is to attract customers from the day it’s posted.
Now, paid ads are a great way to boost traffic in the short-term to get more people to the content.
However, once the money dries up, if there has been no SEO done on the pages, they will quickly become irrelevant again, the traffic will die and leads/sales will decrease.
SEO ensures that the content remains relevant to search queries for the long-term.
For example, with link building, other sites will not want to link to a post or content that is irrelevant to their own niche or is poor in quality – particularly if you’re trying to get links from a page with high authority.
If you do get that link and it stays there, it tells Google that the content is great and should be in the eyes of searchers, boosting rankings for the chosen keyword.
As such, this SEO technique improves the long-term impact in Google.
3. SEO Is More Cost-Effective Than Paid Ads
In some cases, great SEO can cost little to no money at all. Paid ads always cost something.
But even when SEO does cost something, the results have a much bigger impact compared to those of paid ads.
A simple example from Digital Authority Partners shows how one business can be paying nearly $5,000 a month for one keyword, but the number of clicks it gets makes it not worth the effort.
On the other hand, with SEO, if the content is great, people will want to see it. This includes people searching for it in Google, as well as others that will want to link to it in their own webpages.
As more and more people click it and link to it, organic search increases. And since it’s not an ad, its ranking in Google shows it’s something can be trusted.
The money spent on creating high-quality content is much better spent here compared to paid ads.
4. SEO Is Visible Across Search Engines
Paid ads can only be viewed on the search engine you are paying on.
While Google is, by far, the most popular search engine, paying for Google Ads can only be accessed by those using Google.
However, there are still other search engines out there like Bing and Yahoo that still get quite a lot of use. If you go all-in on paid ads on Google, you are missing out on all the users of other search engines.
SEO is better than paid ads here too because the page is visible on numerous search engines.
The page ranking methods used by Bing and Yahoo may not be exactly the same as Google, but you can be sure that they are close.
Chances are, if you type a keyword in Bing and Google, the top results will be more or less the same across both platforms.
Therefore, SEO allows you to be liquid with your approach. Your content will be visible to all search browsers, rather than limiting yourself to a single one with paid ads.
5. Paid Ads Requires Constant Investment
Paid ads require a specific budget to keep going.
If it runs out and it’s the only way you are getting traffic to your content, you will see a sharp decline in visitors and sales.
There is also a constant need to check what is working and what isn’t.
If you have spent a lot of money on one keyword but it doesn’t bring in as many people as you expected, you’ll need to rethink your strategy again.
Plus, it takes a lot of time and effort to optimize and test the performance of each paid ad to make sure it gets the best possible results.
On the other hand, SEO does all the work for you and continues to give back. The higher you rank, the more clicks you get, which further increases ranking that results in more clicks, and the cycle continues.
6. SEO Builds A Brand
When a page is ranked number one in Google, it shows authority, creating an image that this page is trustworthy and valuable.
In turn, this helps turn your webpage into a brand where visitors can expect further excellent content.
Chances are that you will likely be known in your niche by others in the same space too. In turn, this further enhances reputation. You will gain more press opportunities, more links to your pages, data-driven insights and so on – all of which, according to ComboApp, will help to build a brand.
On the other hand, paid ads are simply a snapshot of what you have to offer.
Sure, you may be at the very top of the search results, but you haven’t done anything to promote a brand or build awareness in your niche.
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