Pay Per Click Vs. Search Engine Optimization

Hi... couple of weeks back I read a nice article about pay per click vs. search engine optimization. With more and more companies getting cost consious and talking about marketing ROI, i thought it would be a nice article to add to my blog...

Wishing you all Season's Greetings and a Happy New Year...

Cheers !!



Santosh



PPC Vs. SEOBe it work at home based business or any other area of internet marketing, There are arguably o­nly two major marketing strategies being employed by companies and webmasters in the market to date: Pay Per Click (PPC) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).



Search engine marketing is undoubtedly the best source of targetted traffic o­n the Internet currently. As most people use the search engines (up to 80% of surfers use a search engine to find info or products), the battle for search position o­nly heats up from day-to-day.



SEO has been there since the beginning of the Internet, while PPC is the "new kid o­n the block".



PPC or "Pay Per Click" refers to text-based marketing, where companies/webmasters get charged by the click whenever a surfer clicks o­n their paid ads. Search rankings are usually based o­n bidding prices. These are usually designated o­n the engines as "sponsored listings".



SEO refers to "Search Engine Optimization". This is search ranking based o­n many factors like link popularity, page rank, etc. The listings for these appear o­n the main search results of an engine, also called "natural or organic search listings".



The main engines offer these as free submissions (though many smaller engines are finding ways to "charge" website submissions nowadays).



So, who's better? Let's do some weighing of pros and cons, and let's see the overall result.





1) PPC Advantages



a) PPC traffic, ranking and results tend to be more stable, more predictable than SEO.



b) PPC is the more popular advertising medium o­n the Internet. Because it's popular, you can more easily convince your employer/boss to spend some ad budget o­n this, as the risks of trying out other less popular marketing methods are higher.



Since PPC is more popular than SEO, your boss will probably play it safe and go PPC first, before SEO.



c) Ability to rank high o­n the search engines, without having to do tedious work involved in SEO like finding link partners, posting links, etc. As long as you have the budget, good to high ranking is yours.



Also, PPC listings get posted much faster, usually a few days (after editor review).



PPC Disadvantages:



a) Unfortunately, popular also means "competitive". You'll find that costs are usually rising nowadays per click. As more companies compete, the "law of supply and demand" naturally will increase bids over time, similar to an auction in a way.





2) SEO Advantages



a) The primary advantage of SEO is that it can be done entirely free, without any cash outlay. Who doesn't like free traffic?



SEO Disadvantages:



a) SEO has less stable, more unpredictable traffic and ranking. This is because search engines tend to vary their ranking algorithms o­n "natural search listings"



SEO specialists would have to "guess" and adapt to ever-changing strategies and tactics to either maintain their positions or improve their rank. o­ne month could mean you're out of the top ten with no warning.



b) SEO is slower in terms of ranking your site o­n a lot of chosen keywords. You would have to make numerous link requests, multiple pages, press release, etc. Also, it takes a lot more time for search engines to index new sites' domain names (it can take months).



So, who wins? It depends o­n the situation of the webmaster/company. If they have some cash to spend, PPC is their first choice (usually because results are faster). For those o­n lower budgets, SEO would be their first choice.



The acme of skill is o­n the advertiser who knows how to use both methods to his/her advantage, a combination is the best. Say, use PPC o­n keywords within your budget range, and use SEO to target more expensive keywords o­n the natural search engine results.



Or use PPC accounts to scout which keywords are competitive and which are not, using their "keyword search tool". Just be creative and innovative, and both methods can be combined to your advantage.



About the author:



Alexander Teru is the owner of http://www.homebizowners.com. He has been a successful E-commerce Entrepreneur since earlier days. His site focuses o­n reviewing/recommending o­nly home business opportunities that have good standing with the FTC and BBB.

Pay Per Click Vs. Search Engine Optimization

Hi... couple of weeks back I read a nice article about pay per click vs. search engine optimization. With more and more companies getting cost consious and talking about marketing ROI, i thought it would be a nice article to add to my blog...

Wishing you all Season's Greetings and a Happy New Year...

Cheers !!



Santosh



PPC Vs. SEOBe it work at home based business or any other area of internet marketing, There are arguably o­nly two major marketing strategies being employed by companies and webmasters in the market to date: Pay Per Click (PPC) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).



Search engine marketing is undoubtedly the best source of targetted traffic o­n the Internet currently. As most people use the search engines (up to 80% of surfers use a search engine to find info or products), the battle for search position o­nly heats up from day-to-day.



SEO has been there since the beginning of the Internet, while PPC is the "new kid o­n the block".



PPC or "Pay Per Click" refers to text-based marketing, where companies/webmasters get charged by the click whenever a surfer clicks o­n their paid ads. Search rankings are usually based o­n bidding prices. These are usually designated o­n the engines as "sponsored listings".



SEO refers to "Search Engine Optimization". This is search ranking based o­n many factors like link popularity, page rank, etc. The listings for these appear o­n the main search results of an engine, also called "natural or organic search listings".



The main engines offer these as free submissions (though many smaller engines are finding ways to "charge" website submissions nowadays).



So, who's better? Let's do some weighing of pros and cons, and let's see the overall result.





1) PPC Advantages



a) PPC traffic, ranking and results tend to be more stable, more predictable than SEO.



b) PPC is the more popular advertising medium o­n the Internet. Because it's popular, you can more easily convince your employer/boss to spend some ad budget o­n this, as the risks of trying out other less popular marketing methods are higher.



Since PPC is more popular than SEO, your boss will probably play it safe and go PPC first, before SEO.



c) Ability to rank high o­n the search engines, without having to do tedious work involved in SEO like finding link partners, posting links, etc. As long as you have the budget, good to high ranking is yours.



Also, PPC listings get posted much faster, usually a few days (after editor review).



PPC Disadvantages:



a) Unfortunately, popular also means "competitive". You'll find that costs are usually rising nowadays per click. As more companies compete, the "law of supply and demand" naturally will increase bids over time, similar to an auction in a way.





2) SEO Advantages



a) The primary advantage of SEO is that it can be done entirely free, without any cash outlay. Who doesn't like free traffic?



SEO Disadvantages:



a) SEO has less stable, more unpredictable traffic and ranking. This is because search engines tend to vary their ranking algorithms o­n "natural search listings"



SEO specialists would have to "guess" and adapt to ever-changing strategies and tactics to either maintain their positions or improve their rank. o­ne month could mean you're out of the top ten with no warning.



b) SEO is slower in terms of ranking your site o­n a lot of chosen keywords. You would have to make numerous link requests, multiple pages, press release, etc. Also, it takes a lot more time for search engines to index new sites' domain names (it can take months).



So, who wins? It depends o­n the situation of the webmaster/company. If they have some cash to spend, PPC is their first choice (usually because results are faster). For those o­n lower budgets, SEO would be their first choice.



The acme of skill is o­n the advertiser who knows how to use both methods to his/her advantage, a combination is the best. Say, use PPC o­n keywords within your budget range, and use SEO to target more expensive keywords o­n the natural search engine results.



Or use PPC accounts to scout which keywords are competitive and which are not, using their "keyword search tool". Just be creative and innovative, and both methods can be combined to your advantage.



About the author:



Alexander Teru is the owner of http://www.homebizowners.com. He has been a successful E-commerce Entrepreneur since earlier days. His site focuses o­n reviewing/recommending o­nly home business opportunities that have good standing with the FTC and BBB.

Pay Per Click Vs. Search Engine Optimization

Hi... couple of weeks back I read a nice article about pay per click vs. search engine optimization. With more and more companies getting cost consious and talking about marketing ROI, i thought it would be a nice article to add to my blog...

Wishing you all Season's Greetings and a Happy New Year...

Cheers !!



Santosh



PPC Vs. SEOBe it work at home based business or any other area of internet marketing, There are arguably o­nly two major marketing strategies being employed by companies and webmasters in the market to date: Pay Per Click (PPC) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).



Search engine marketing is undoubtedly the best source of targetted traffic o­n the Internet currently. As most people use the search engines (up to 80% of surfers use a search engine to find info or products), the battle for search position o­nly heats up from day-to-day.



SEO has been there since the beginning of the Internet, while PPC is the "new kid o­n the block".



PPC or "Pay Per Click" refers to text-based marketing, where companies/webmasters get charged by the click whenever a surfer clicks o­n their paid ads. Search rankings are usually based o­n bidding prices. These are usually designated o­n the engines as "sponsored listings".



SEO refers to "Search Engine Optimization". This is search ranking based o­n many factors like link popularity, page rank, etc. The listings for these appear o­n the main search results of an engine, also called "natural or organic search listings".



The main engines offer these as free submissions (though many smaller engines are finding ways to "charge" website submissions nowadays).



So, who's better? Let's do some weighing of pros and cons, and let's see the overall result.





1) PPC Advantages



a) PPC traffic, ranking and results tend to be more stable, more predictable than SEO.



b) PPC is the more popular advertising medium o­n the Internet. Because it's popular, you can more easily convince your employer/boss to spend some ad budget o­n this, as the risks of trying out other less popular marketing methods are higher.



Since PPC is more popular than SEO, your boss will probably play it safe and go PPC first, before SEO.



c) Ability to rank high o­n the search engines, without having to do tedious work involved in SEO like finding link partners, posting links, etc. As long as you have the budget, good to high ranking is yours.



Also, PPC listings get posted much faster, usually a few days (after editor review).



PPC Disadvantages:



a) Unfortunately, popular also means "competitive". You'll find that costs are usually rising nowadays per click. As more companies compete, the "law of supply and demand" naturally will increase bids over time, similar to an auction in a way.





2) SEO Advantages



a) The primary advantage of SEO is that it can be done entirely free, without any cash outlay. Who doesn't like free traffic?



SEO Disadvantages:



a) SEO has less stable, more unpredictable traffic and ranking. This is because search engines tend to vary their ranking algorithms o­n "natural search listings"



SEO specialists would have to "guess" and adapt to ever-changing strategies and tactics to either maintain their positions or improve their rank. o­ne month could mean you're out of the top ten with no warning.



b) SEO is slower in terms of ranking your site o­n a lot of chosen keywords. You would have to make numerous link requests, multiple pages, press release, etc. Also, it takes a lot more time for search engines to index new sites' domain names (it can take months).



So, who wins? It depends o­n the situation of the webmaster/company. If they have some cash to spend, PPC is their first choice (usually because results are faster). For those o­n lower budgets, SEO would be their first choice.



The acme of skill is o­n the advertiser who knows how to use both methods to his/her advantage, a combination is the best. Say, use PPC o­n keywords within your budget range, and use SEO to target more expensive keywords o­n the natural search engine results.



Or use PPC accounts to scout which keywords are competitive and which are not, using their "keyword search tool". Just be creative and innovative, and both methods can be combined to your advantage.



About the author:



Alexander Teru is the owner of http://www.homebizowners.com. He has been a successful E-commerce Entrepreneur since earlier days. His site focuses o­n reviewing/recommending o­nly home business opportunities that have good standing with the FTC and BBB.

Management-ALLY: Part 1

It is a long time since I contributed to my blog. Well, I shall stick to the eternal management excuse - I have been busy.



Management-ALLY is going to be a monologue of Office, Work, Corporate, and of course Management. There is a lot of things I want to write about management, for it contains all the recipes for a smashing bestseller - Action, Comedy, Sex, and Intrigue.



I wonder what management is all about. It is used in the office premises, business meetings, seminars, colleges, school, and even home is not spared. What is Management? The Webster Dictionary mentions Management as – 1. The act or art of managing things: the conducting or supervising of something (as a business); 2.judicious use of means to accomplish an end.



Peter Drucker, says in his book “Managing in a Time of Great Change” that management (here I mean the modern term of business management) found its genesis around the World War I and came to limelight around the World War II. No other function in history has emerged as fast as management and managers have in the last fifty to sixty years. In fact they are multiplying faster than streptococcus bacteria. Management is an age old practice. In fact the most successful executive would have been that Egyptian who, 4700 years or more ago, first conceived the pyramid – without any precedent – designed it and built it- in a record time. And it still stands.



But I think the genesis of management goes far beyond this. Yes it was much before the coming of great civilization. It was thousands of years ago when Neanderthal man roamed the earth, well not the whole earth, but a part of it.



Mr. Neanderthal was a Lone ranger. He never believed in sharing or delegating his work. His daily chore was – hungry - eat; thirsty – drink, tired – sleep, horny – sex. In today management world, his requirements were at the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy.



Soon he realized that sex was hard to come by and decided that he move in with Mrs. Neanderthal. Yeah, right archeology proves that women used to stay in caves while men wandered about.



Then soon they realized being in group reduced their chance of going hungry, and increased the chance of extra-marital affair… and hence they invited some more to join them in the group. They had a focus/ mission of coming together – they could now hunt together and also they derived their strength in numbers, which gave them security from bigger predators…



The first manager would have been the caveman who said “urghh htydk glrk blpj”(Meaning: you are late for the meeting. What is the latest update?) and then started the culture of management. The hallmarks of an ideal management are: Satisfied Manager, and disgruntled employees working under him.



Soon the group started increasing in numbers (because the lifespan of the cavemen increased, because of the group), and that led to delegation of work. But the ultimate power for the group leader Caveman came with the power of ‘Fire’.



The discovery of fire - it would have been discovered when a bolt of lighting would have struck and created a forest fire… our ancestors would have burnt their hands trying to catch a burning wood at the wrong end… but they would have also liked the taste of the animals that was burnt in the fire… thus they would have realized that food would taste good if it was ‘fired’... but then getting the fire was a problem… and controlling it was more difficult. The caveman used to wait for the next lighting bolt at the place where it struck before… but then it never happened… and thus came the realization – lighting never strikes at the same place twice



Well, coming back to the manager and fire connection… it was the man who learnt the art of controlling the fire… that became the manager. He got to sit close to it, when the climate was cold, he got to roast the food and have the first bite when it came to eat, and poke the fire at someone who tried to act to smart… thus he got the ability to ‘fire’ anyone… and that was the main quality and still is the main differential point between the manager and the people who work under him…THE ABILITY TO FIRE ANYONE.



Some things have not changed through the ages. Amen.

Management-ALLY: Part 1

It is a long time since I contributed to my blog. Well, I shall stick to the eternal management excuse - I have been busy.



Management-ALLY is going to be a monologue of Office, Work, Corporate, and of course Management. There is a lot of things I want to write about management, for it contains all the recipes for a smashing bestseller - Action, Comedy, Sex, and Intrigue.



I wonder what management is all about. It is used in the office premises, business meetings, seminars, colleges, school, and even home is not spared. What is Management? The Webster Dictionary mentions Management as – 1. The act or art of managing things: the conducting or supervising of something (as a business); 2.judicious use of means to accomplish an end.



Peter Drucker, says in his book “Managing in a Time of Great Change” that management (here I mean the modern term of business management) found its genesis around the World War I and came to limelight around the World War II. No other function in history has emerged as fast as management and managers have in the last fifty to sixty years. In fact they are multiplying faster than streptococcus bacteria. Management is an age old practice. In fact the most successful executive would have been that Egyptian who, 4700 years or more ago, first conceived the pyramid – without any precedent – designed it and built it- in a record time. And it still stands.



But I think the genesis of management goes far beyond this. Yes it was much before the coming of great civilization. It was thousands of years ago when Neanderthal man roamed the earth, well not the whole earth, but a part of it.



Mr. Neanderthal was a Lone ranger. He never believed in sharing or delegating his work. His daily chore was – hungry - eat; thirsty – drink, tired – sleep, horny – sex. In today management world, his requirements were at the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy.



Soon he realized that sex was hard to come by and decided that he move in with Mrs. Neanderthal. Yeah, right archeology proves that women used to stay in caves while men wandered about.



Then soon they realized being in group reduced their chance of going hungry, and increased the chance of extra-marital affair… and hence they invited some more to join them in the group. They had a focus/ mission of coming together – they could now hunt together and also they derived their strength in numbers, which gave them security from bigger predators…



The first manager would have been the caveman who said “urghh htydk glrk blpj”(Meaning: you are late for the meeting. What is the latest update?) and then started the culture of management. The hallmarks of an ideal management are: Satisfied Manager, and disgruntled employees working under him.



Soon the group started increasing in numbers (because the lifespan of the cavemen increased, because of the group), and that led to delegation of work. But the ultimate power for the group leader Caveman came with the power of ‘Fire’.



The discovery of fire - it would have been discovered when a bolt of lighting would have struck and created a forest fire… our ancestors would have burnt their hands trying to catch a burning wood at the wrong end… but they would have also liked the taste of the animals that was burnt in the fire… thus they would have realized that food would taste good if it was ‘fired’... but then getting the fire was a problem… and controlling it was more difficult. The caveman used to wait for the next lighting bolt at the place where it struck before… but then it never happened… and thus came the realization – lighting never strikes at the same place twice



Well, coming back to the manager and fire connection… it was the man who learnt the art of controlling the fire… that became the manager. He got to sit close to it, when the climate was cold, he got to roast the food and have the first bite when it came to eat, and poke the fire at someone who tried to act to smart… thus he got the ability to ‘fire’ anyone… and that was the main quality and still is the main differential point between the manager and the people who work under him…THE ABILITY TO FIRE ANYONE.



Some things have not changed through the ages. Amen.

Management-ALLY: Part 1

It is a long time since I contributed to my blog. Well, I shall stick to the eternal management excuse - I have been busy.



Management-ALLY is going to be a monologue of Office, Work, Corporate, and of course Management. There is a lot of things I want to write about management, for it contains all the recipes for a smashing bestseller - Action, Comedy, Sex, and Intrigue.



I wonder what management is all about. It is used in the office premises, business meetings, seminars, colleges, school, and even home is not spared. What is Management? The Webster Dictionary mentions Management as – 1. The act or art of managing things: the conducting or supervising of something (as a business); 2.judicious use of means to accomplish an end.



Peter Drucker, says in his book “Managing in a Time of Great Change” that management (here I mean the modern term of business management) found its genesis around the World War I and came to limelight around the World War II. No other function in history has emerged as fast as management and managers have in the last fifty to sixty years. In fact they are multiplying faster than streptococcus bacteria. Management is an age old practice. In fact the most successful executive would have been that Egyptian who, 4700 years or more ago, first conceived the pyramid – without any precedent – designed it and built it- in a record time. And it still stands.



But I think the genesis of management goes far beyond this. Yes it was much before the coming of great civilization. It was thousands of years ago when Neanderthal man roamed the earth, well not the whole earth, but a part of it.



Mr. Neanderthal was a Lone ranger. He never believed in sharing or delegating his work. His daily chore was – hungry - eat; thirsty – drink, tired – sleep, horny – sex. In today management world, his requirements were at the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy.



Soon he realized that sex was hard to come by and decided that he move in with Mrs. Neanderthal. Yeah, right archeology proves that women used to stay in caves while men wandered about.



Then soon they realized being in group reduced their chance of going hungry, and increased the chance of extra-marital affair… and hence they invited some more to join them in the group. They had a focus/ mission of coming together – they could now hunt together and also they derived their strength in numbers, which gave them security from bigger predators…



The first manager would have been the caveman who said “urghh htydk glrk blpj”(Meaning: you are late for the meeting. What is the latest update?) and then started the culture of management. The hallmarks of an ideal management are: Satisfied Manager, and disgruntled employees working under him.



Soon the group started increasing in numbers (because the lifespan of the cavemen increased, because of the group), and that led to delegation of work. But the ultimate power for the group leader Caveman came with the power of ‘Fire’.



The discovery of fire - it would have been discovered when a bolt of lighting would have struck and created a forest fire… our ancestors would have burnt their hands trying to catch a burning wood at the wrong end… but they would have also liked the taste of the animals that was burnt in the fire… thus they would have realized that food would taste good if it was ‘fired’... but then getting the fire was a problem… and controlling it was more difficult. The caveman used to wait for the next lighting bolt at the place where it struck before… but then it never happened… and thus came the realization – lighting never strikes at the same place twice



Well, coming back to the manager and fire connection… it was the man who learnt the art of controlling the fire… that became the manager. He got to sit close to it, when the climate was cold, he got to roast the food and have the first bite when it came to eat, and poke the fire at someone who tried to act to smart… thus he got the ability to ‘fire’ anyone… and that was the main quality and still is the main differential point between the manager and the people who work under him…THE ABILITY TO FIRE ANYONE.



Some things have not changed through the ages. Amen.

How Relevant are Banner Ads in Brand Building?

Though a banner space is small it serves multiple purposes for an advertiser



— It is the ad message of the company/website,



— Allows visual display of the company name, logo and the product



— It is the click-through device



— it is a concise sales pitch that can trigger customer click-through



— It is the key for the affiliate tracking mechanism (if you run an affiliate

program)



What’s the point of banners if clicks are declining?



At the turn of the century it seemed like it was all over for banners when research showed that click-through rates had dropped to 0.5% or less from a level of 2-3% in the 1990’s. Fortunately there was also research that showed that banners play a big role in improving brand awareness on the net.

In fact, despite the finding that click-throughs are falling one yardstick that gives us some insight that banners are still effective - is the affiliate program concept. It is well known that affiliates make a significant contribution to the Internet economy and as we all know, affiliate programs use banners as the main advertising format. This implies that banners continue to work even at the reduced click-through rates and have probably stabilized at this level after the heightened interest in the initial years of the net.



If we draw parallels with the paper mailer based direct marketing industry, the lessons learnt in direct response marketing show that the expectations in terms of response rates should be realistic and as a percentage of total mailers sent out, the response is actually as low as 0.5%. It is therefore not surprising that click-throughs on banners which is the online equivalent of an initial response to the ad are also at similar levels.



The point to be borne in mind is that banners still make business sense especially due to their ability to create brand awareness and maintain brand visibility.



What do banners do for brands?



Banner ads continue to be the internet’s most widely used form of advertising and the use of ‘rich media’ in banners has improved impact and given a fillip to the usage of banners. For those who use traditional media forms like TV, Radio or Print ads, the use of Internet banners increases brand visibility and provides response capabilities through click-throughs.

To quote from a Forrester Research report “Online advertising can boost brand impact at 60% less cost than piling on more offline ads -- under the right conditions. Marketers should use new technologies to plan an online/offline mix to increase brand impact”.



For those who cannot afford mass media or consider their products too niche for traditional media, the Internet banners can help establish brand name recognition. For such advertisers who depend mainly on the Internet to create brand awareness, the key lies in placing their banners within website environments with focused and relevant content.



When customers view a company’s banner ads, whether they click through or not, it adds to the overall brand building activity and brand recall at a low cost. There is a tendency to run banner ads as short-term campaigns of 4-8 weeks but it takes longer for a banner campaign to establish a brand. Brand building on the Internet has to be a sustained effort just like in the case of traditional media but you could adopt a strategy of regularly refreshing and changing your banner ad content. This will ensure that you keep the brand top-of-mind as well as renew interest with fresh copy/visuals.



The banner space is evolving in terms of sizes, location on page, interactive capabilities and audio-visual delivery. If you capitalize on these developments early in the game before all Internet marketers wake up to it, the forerunner advantage and the element of surprise will be yours and you can establish your brands quickly and effectively.



- C.S. Raman

About the Author

C.S. Raman is a prolific business writer on topics like marketing, web copy content, and business management. He is a guest writer for many websites, providing free emarketing resources and promotion tools. He has over two decades of work experience as VP of two top US ad agencies. You are free to reprint this article in your web site. However, please keep the author’s section at the bottom of the article as is.