Are Google Adwords better than SEO?

What's better - PPC or SEO?

There are many Webmasters that will tell you that PPC (Pay Per Click) is more effective than SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). But just as many will take the completely opposite point of view. Of course, you really should use both, whenever possible.

The general consensus is that SEO is better for the long term, and PPC is better for quick results. The problem with SEO and achieving high organic rankings is - how do you keep up with the changes made regularly by the major Search Engines? For example, Google is currently making changes that could have some effect on the success of organic rankings. One of these changes is the introduction of personalised search for all Google users. You no longer have to be signed in for Google to personalise your results. What that means is that it is much more important to get that first click from a user. But the reality is that SEO takes time and a lot of effort. So while SEO is very important and will provide long-term benefits, it is very hard to be competitive right out of the box.

One of the reasons seems to be that it takes 2-3 months for the Search Engines to assimilate the content of a new website. During that time, the webmaster should concentrate of gaining quality, incoming links as they seem more important during the early days of a website. After 3 months, the content seems to kick in and your website can shoot up the rankings, unless you are in a very competitive sector.

So what should you do while you are waiting for your website to get on the first page? Many experts are suggesting that PPC is the best investment for people who are just establishing themselves on the web. When you have a brand new website, you're going to have a hard time getting a high rankings for any competitive keywords. PPC allows you to start getting a return on your website investment.

The problem with this approach is a financial one. Having outlaid plenty on your new website, not many average punters have cash left over for an extensive PPC campaign. With that in mind, people looking to start a new E-venture should include the costs of a modest PPC campaign in the budget for the new venture.

They can then get some immediate return on their capital expenditure while working away on SEO. Organic searches are a 24/7 occurrence where PPC ads come and go, depending on the depth of your pockets.

Once you have gained good rankings, PPC can be used to target special sales, or services. It is a great way to help searchers locate your products when they are on sale, or your services when a special price can be obtained.

The advantage of an initial PPC campaign is to help you determine the direction of your SEO efforts. You can use PPC to quickly to determine better-converting keywords and use that to your advantage in your optimisation practices.