Search Engine Optimization Or Bought Advertising: The Debate Rolls On

In any trade there will always be discussion about differing strategies. In normal advertising there will be different ideas about the merits of print versus broadcast. In internet advertising the debate continues, based on the merits of pay per click promotion against using search engine optimisation to elevate the natural search engine positioning. Each process will always have its supporters. This was the focus of one of the more lively sessions at a recent search marketing conference.

In bigger enterprises with large marketing teams there may be a distinct online marketing team with a mixture of people to handle both types of work. The two approaches draw on two types of personality. Those responsible with paid advertising want to see the impact of their efforts sooner, even if it may be risky or quite expensive.

search engine optimisation can be seen as a more creative strategy. The search optimization specialist takes a longer view, gradually building the reputation of the company’s domain through clever content and inching its way to the top of the natural search results. He may work with different marketing areas trying to apply optimization techniques to their work for everyone’s benefit. With the creation of abstracts that are used to publicise the domain and lift its reputation, this can be a drawn out process.

For a smaller business, employing someone in-house for search optimization can be a luxury. The company’s own webmaster may be capable of applying some of the process, but will not have the amount of available time to give the strategy the ongoing support it requires. This is where it is wise to employ the services of a specialist search engine optimization consultancy that has the expertise required to elevate the listing over time.

Pay per click could be useful for a seasonal advertising campaign. Different keywords come in to play at some times of year that long term search optimization would not be able to react to. Is this the time to resort to something like Google AdWords? Many would argue that any use of AdWords is wasted expense, especially at a time of year when there is going to be plenty of competition for those seasonal keywords. If you need your pay per click advert to appear at a time of increased competition then your enterprise will be involved in a bidding spiral with your rivals to display your advert. What you pay can vary according to the time of day. It is true that you only pay when your advert has been clicked, but there is no guarantee it is going to appear at all. In addition, it is widely known for new consumers to deliberately avoid sponsored results, preferring to use natural search result listing.

It has been known for enterprises to start using paid marketing as a way of attracting visitors to the domain but then stop using it as the improved natural search engine positioning is achieved. It has been said that operating a pay per click marketing campaign can harm the natural results listing that has already been achieved by optimization, so is wasting your marketing budget. Paid advertising could be effective for a short term promotion, but search engine optimisation can reap dividends in improved search engine positioning over a longer time and is not reliant on paid advertising being seen.