Search engines are complex computer programs, but for the common user, they are simply — answer machines. They exist to identify, interpret, and organize the internet’s content to give the most suitable results to the queries by the searchers.

To rank in search results, your content needs to first be visible to search engines. It’s arguably the most important piece of the SEO puzzle: If your site can’t be discovered, there’s no possibility for it to show up in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Page).

All search engines operate in a 3 phase approach to sorting, ranking, and presenting search results. But the general public has no idea what is happening in the background of that search box when they type in their search queries. So just how do Google, Bing, and the others decide what is accessible on the web, what is relevant to your particular query and which precise websites should be ranked better?

They use these 3 stages to answer those questions:

Web Crawling

This is how the search engines can discover what content is published on the World Wide Web. Search engines operate by crawling hundreds of billions of webpages with their web crawlers. These web crawlers are generally referred to as search engine bots or spiders. A search engine travels the web by downloading web pages and tracking links on these pages to identify new pages that have been made accessible.

Primarily, crawling is replicating what is on web pages and regularly checking the abundance of pages to discern if they have altered and then making a copy of any differences detected.

Indexing

After a spider has crawled a webpage, then the replica that is made is passed on to the search engine and collected in a data center. Data centers are enormous, purpose-built compilations of servers that serve as a storehouse of all the versions of webpages being created by the crawlers. Google owns dozens of these storages dotted around the globe, which it secures very strictly and which are among the most hi-tech structures in the world.

This collection of webpages is called the ‘Index’, and it is this data store that is regulated and used to give the search results you view on the search engine. Indexing is the method of organizing the volumes of data and pages so they can be searched promptly for results relevant to your search query.

The Algorithm

In the end, there is a huge collection of web page copies that are all being continually updated and regulated so they can promptly find what a user is looking for. But there needs to be a mechanism by which they can be ranked in a hierarchy using their relevance to a particular search term – this is where the Algorithm is utilized.

The algorithm is a very complex and intricate equation that computes a value for any site relevant to a search term. We don’t know what the algorithm exactly is, because search engines generally keep this a closely secured secret from opponents and from people wanting to carry out dubious activities for the search engine to get to the top spots. That said, enough regarding the algorithm has been worked out to let SEOs guide website owners on how to enhance their sites and SEO factors to climb up in the rankings.

If these three parameters work together, then you will be able to rank for the keyword then, it’s hard to determine whether three of these things are working for you or not. This is why a perfect plan is essential for positive outcomes, for that this is an step-by-step SEO tutorial to improve your SEO strategy.

Both SEO and PPC are part of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) which is one of the techniques you can use as part of your overall Digital Marketing action plan.

The chief distinction between Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC) is that traffic generated from SEO (organic) is free whereas traffic from PPC is not free. Marketing agencies generally come up with their strategies depending on your exact business requirements. An integrated digital marketing strategy is the way to achieve both your short-term and long-term business goals.

SEO vs. PPC Comparison- Organic Traffic or Paid Advertising

Position in Search Results

Where precisely your ad will show up depends on several factors (i.e. the keywords you are targeting, keywords in your landing page, keywords used in your ad copy, etc.) but it’s either on top of the page or at the end the organic results.

Organic results only appear in the center of the page. Whether your listing will show up in the top spots or first pages depends on your website’s user experience and how you carry out your SEO optimization, both on-site and off-site SEO.

PPC: Get your ad on the first page, if you pay a greater cost-per-click (CPC)

SEO: Get first page positions, if your site is optimized for search engines

Cost

SEO traffic is free and PPC is paid and though this is true, some serious effort and hard work are needed to get free traffic from search engines. This is the most glaring difference between SEO and PPC.

The competition is huge for nearly every keyword the viewers can search and you are required to have a well designed, user-friendly website and a comprehensive SEO plan to get to the top 10 rankings.

If you are not acquainted with how search engines or SEO then, the right SEO Services Agency will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses. They will also work with a strategy to achieve higher positions as time goes by.

The Pay Per Click cost, on the other hand, depends on several parameters:

In Google Adwords, the popularity of a keyword, the number of advertisers wanting to use that keyword, and the number of relevant websites with ad positions for it are a few factors considered.

If it seems a little complex, that’s because it is, despite the attempts made by Google to make the entire system simpler to use.

But, with PPC you only pay for the clicks your ad receives and not for its views. And, you can decide in advance what your daily budget will be. You can also estimate the average CPC for the keywords you wish to target.

Google Keyword tool can give you an estimate for the CPC for each keyword.

SEO: You cannot simply pay your way to the first page. The cost of SEO is indirect.

You cannot simply pay your way to the first page. The cost of SEO is indirect. PPC: You can set a limit to how much you want to pay. You pay for the clicks your ad receives.

Traffic potential

Which method is better for traffic to your website — SEO or PPC?

SEO is, generally, greater than PPC traffic so if you can manage to rank your website for relevant keywords, you will attract considerably more traffic than paying for those keywords.

When you are in the top 5 ranks you can expect to have a constant stream of traffic 24×7 without needing to spend anything (the actual amount of traffic depends on how common a keyword is).

If you compare the traffic and the cost of first page positions for, both, SEO traffic and PPC traffic, organic traffic is more reliable. Research suggests that PPC ads get higher clicks than organic but this also turns to a bigger price.

But when it is extremely difficult to get first page ranks for a keyword, then paying for traffic.

SEO: Organic traffic is steadfast as long as you are in the top positions.

Organic traffic is steadfast as long as you are in the top positions. PPC: PPC ads can attract clicks but this then you pay more for them.

Conversion

What type of visitor is more prone to convert (i.e. fulfil your goal for your website), someone reaching due to PPC Ads or organic search?

If your PPC ads are extremely targeted and optimized then a visitor is more prone to convert than one reaching from organic search.

This is because a webpage can rank for multiple keywords so the search audience may not be searching precisely for the content (or product) displayed on a special page.

But, if you run a strong PPC campaign then you will simply get clicks from audiences who are interested 100% in your content(or products).

SEO: SEO traffic is better than other sorts of traffic (i.e. social media) but when it comes to conversion is not as effective as PPC.

SEO traffic is better than other sorts of traffic (i.e. social media) but when it comes to conversion is not as effective as PPC. PPC: Extremely optimized keywords will bring in more conversions but will also cost higher.

Ease of use

Both SEO and PPC are complex concepts that need proper experience, and strategic ability, for them to be successful.

SEO is a process that requires a lot of time and continuous efforts. It might take months or sometimes even years to rank for particular keywords; some might not rank at all!

But on the flip side, to get sound results with PPC and Adwords you either have to dedicate time to learning details or hire a PPC expert to help you or you will lose quite a bit of money before you learn how it works.

So what’s the verdict? SEO and PPC is the real success story

The bottom line is that using both PPC and SEO as part of your Digital Marketing campaign can bring you better results, rather than relying on just one of them.SEO and PPC strategies can support each other and ultimately deliver the best possible results. Internet marketing services can help you come with the right ratio of resources you should invest depending on your brand’s goals.

Following are the ways how these two styles of marketing can work together:

Keyword and conversion data from PPC can be supplied to organic search (SEO). PPC can bring you quicker results so you can drive a PPC campaign and test the keywords that convert better and then try with SEO to rank for those keywords.

Target clicks in paid and organic for high-performing keywords. Test your keyword strategy in PPC before deciding on a long-term SEO strategy. Remarketing enables you to be noticed by visitors after an initial impression via organic search.

Use PPC if you have a product with high-conversion ratios and use SEO when you have a restricted budget to spend on promotion. Customize messaging around visitors’ engagement with your site. A/B testing of ad copy and landing pages can be used in your organic efforts and landing pages.

SEO may take time but the results are (under most circumstances) long-term while with PPC when you cease paying for clicks, traffic will also cease.

Target users at all stages of the customer journey from research to purchase. Build confidence and awareness by having both active organic and paid visibility.

In conclusion, SEO is a more beenficial long-term strategy for your business, but for it to work, the following activities need to be carried out, like:

Keyword Research

Keyword research is the process of finding words or phrases that people type in search engines to optimize content.

Keyword research influences every other SEO task that you carry out, including discovering content ideas, on-page SEO, and customer outreach.



KEI or “Keyword Effectivity Index” is one of the important factors when it comes to determining the effective keywords for your business. KEI can help to pick the right set of keywords to rank.

Multiple Off-page and On-page activities also need to be carried out, here is a checklist for Technical SEO activities. Make sure you tick every single one!

