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PPC vs SEO Using A Decision Matrix

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This is the big fight. When it comes to gaining traffic online, most people tend to go for one of two options: search engine optimisation by improving the organic ranking of websites or pay per click advertising by paying for each click an advert gets on search results. Both have their pros and cons so here is a comparison of PPC and SEO to see, based on a decision matrix, which one comes out on top.

 

  • Cost -SEO is free to do. PPC is cost efficient. But, compared to ‘free’ it is a lot more. SEO scores a perfect 10 while PPC scores 6.
  • Instantaneous results – SEO is a long term solution to gaining traffic and results are not always guaranteed. Whereas, you can create a PPC campaign and get results within 10 minutes. SEO scores 3 while PPC scores 9.
  • Time – SEO will take quite a lot of time to perform since it works on link building, creating healthy articles and more. To make a success of pay per click advertising, you need to understand PPC which might take some time. But, compared to SEO, it is still a relatively short amount of time. SEO scores a 4 while PPC scores a 7.
  • Effort – Again, you will have to put a lot of effort into SEO where the effort is minimised in PPC because it is a paid service (you are basically paying Google AdWords for the effort saving). SEO scores 4 while PPC scores 7.
  • Click through rate – SEO benefits that it is always going to look like organic search results. On the other hand, PPC sometimes suffers low CTRs for looking like adverts. SEO scores 9 while PPC scores 6.
  • General Results – This is a close one. SEO can provide better results than PPC if done right and the same can be said for PPC against SEO. For this reason, I would call this a draw at 7 for SEO and 7 for PPC.
  • Long term results – SEO is performed for long term results. Whereas, PPC can be short, medium or long term. But, at the end of the day, if long term results are what you want, SEO is by far the best way to go. SEO scores 10 while PPC scores a 5.
  • Short term results – Anything you do in SEO will not appear in the short term at all. It is a long term strategy. Whereas PPC is short, medium or long term (flexible). SEO scores 2 while PPC scores 9.
  • Value for money? – I think this one is obvious. SEO will always be the best value for money compared to PPC. SEO scores a 10 while PPC scores a 7.

If you have two things to compare, the best way to approach it can often be a decision matrix. With a maximum score of 90, let’s see how SEO and PPC scored:

  • SEO scored 59/90 (66%)
  • PPC scored 63/90 (70%)

Although this is subjective, it is clear that they are quite evenly matched. When it comes down to choosing one, I would suggest doing a decision matrix on both for your needs and concluding by following the numbers!

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