Search engine optimisation vs Google Adwords. - Webfactory

Everyone wants to be at the top of Google’s listing. We all know the sites at the top of the page are more likely to be clicked on than another lower down page. So what’s the best way to achieve this? Let’s look at the two options.

The first option is to work to reach a high ranking organically using Search Engine Optimisation or SEO. This is basically a process of working on things like the code and content on your site to send the right signals to Google to help it decide to rank your site above another. The main down side to SEO is that it is a gradual process, and it may take a few months or longer before the increases in rank delivers a measurable improvement in your traffic.

The second option is Google Adwords which is Google’s paid advertising platform. With Adwords once you have set up your account, ads and keywords, you pay each time a viewer clicks on your advert. You do not pay if no one clicks. The big advantage of Adwords is that unlike SEO, it’s really quick to see the results as as soon as you activate your account, your ad will appear straight away. Adwords does have a few disadvantages. If you’re company is fighting for a popular keyword then it can get end up costing a lot per click. Also if your visitors don’t convert into sales then you might be facing a loss in some months. The other point to remember is that once you stop paying for the service you’ll lose your advert and if you have not been paying attention to your website’s SEO you could find your page very low down in the listings and lose all your traffic.

When it comes down to it, you really need to look at what you want to achieve, are you looking for a short or long term solution. You could do use both together efficiently so whilst working on improving your Search Engine Optimisation you could use Google Adwords to ensure you get traffic in the short to medium term.

If you need help getting more traffic and sales on your website please get in touch.