SEO stands for « Search Engine Optimisation ». Because you don’t have to pay Google or any other search engine to be in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), this leverage is frequently mislabelled as « free search » However, while the organic ranking is eventually more profitable than SEA, it is still a significant commitment in terms of both financial and human resources.
The Benefits of SEO
- Regular traffic
Being on the first page of organic search results ensures consistent and qualified visitors. After all, you don’t have to rely on a bidding mechanism that can outbid you in minutes. Once a position has been secured and consolidated in SEO, you may relax and enjoy the increased visibility. This, however, is not a panacea (universal remedy). SEO demands a long-term effort to achieve and maintain top rankings.
- A long-term strategy
Setting up an SEO strategy needs a lot of vision. Unlike SEA, the consequences are not immediate, but they endure a long time. It’s similar to buying a house: you pay a little more upfront, but you eventually get a return on your investment.
- The cost
It would be a mistake to claim that SEO is low-cost. Unless you’re in a niche market, the cost of an SEO campaign can quickly add up. Even when the costs of development, content creation and consultancy are all together, it may appear like it costs more than SEA. It is, as previously stated, a far more profitable investment than SEA. Unlike SEA, where prices change, SEO’s progress is solely dependant on you. It is feasible to obtain good visibility with a little elbow grease and the correct instruments.
- Have better branding and an authority website
SEO is also an « inbound » marketing method, which has its own set of advantages. To put it another way, customers come to you naturally. Traditional methods such as sponsored ads, banner ads on blogs, and video ads are significantly more aggressive than this lever. Improving your SEO, therefore, entails enhancing your brand’s image and recognition without resorting to overt advertising. Your website will enter SEO’s virtuous circle if it gains a higher authority: you are appreciated by internet users, you are talked about and receive organic backlinks, so Google put you on the first page.
The Disadvantages of SEO
- Results take time
The first disadvantage of SEO is the length of time it takes to see results. It takes several months to have enough hindsight to evaluate performance. Results are usually measured after a year. This latency is due to the fact that robots require time to analyse a website’s significance (technical, popularity, content, etc.). Google’s algorithm considers over 200 factors, and websites are always changing. That’s why robots have a hard time establishing a rating.
- Time spent
When it comes to SEO, you must be willing to put your preconceived notions aside and invest a lot of time in front of a computer. If no website perfectly meets the 200 criteria of Google’s algorithm, you’ll have to strive high if you want to get noticed. This human resource investment is mostly determined by the level of competition in your market, your brand image, and the popularity of your website. Some advertisers will need to devote a significant amount of time to see results, while others would simply need to make a few changes. It’s unjust, but it’s SEO’s hard law!
- Results that are difficult to measure
While it’s simple to see a traffic curve and the growth of target keyword rankings in Google Analytics, it’s far more difficult to pinpoint exactly what action resulted in these results. For good reason, strong SEO results are influenced by a variety of factors. As a result, linking an action to a result is extremely difficult. For example, if you invest $1,000 on improving the performance of a website, you would never know how much revenue it has earned. Because SEO is so nebulous, it causes some trepidation among ROI-focused advertisers.
SEA or paid search: what is it?
Faced with the drawbacks of SEO and the requirement to make their website profitable rapidly, a huge majority of advertisers and publishers implement a SEA strategy (typically in tandem with SEO). Through the acquisition of advertising space, SEA pulls together all efforts intended at displaying adverts in search engine results and on affiliate websites.
The advantages of the SEA
- Immediate increase in traffic
SEA is a mechanical system. The more money you put in, the more significant traffic becomes. The concept is straightforward: you purchase a place on the first page of search results. As a result, unlike SEO, you won’t have to wait for bots to examine your site, compare it to competitors’, and gradually move you up the SERP.
- Quick and measurable results
Unlike SEO, SEA provides a very exact estimate of your return on investment. Your campaign’s data make it simple to calculate your ROI: you spent $1 and made $3, so the campaign is lucrative! However, keep in mind that not all initiatives will be profitable. To enhance campaign ROI, SEA demands specific expertise (ads optimisation, landing pages definition, target keywords, etc.).
- An infinity of tests
You can immediately see what works and what doesn’t with SEA. You can acquire dependable and accurate findings in only a few days, allowing you to alter your bids. As a result, this is a very reassuring lever when you first start on the internet, provided, of course, that you seek expert counsel or obtain excellent documentation (for example through a Google Ads certification).
The disadvantages of SEA
No acquisition lever is perfect, and SEA is no exception. It may seem very tempting to bet an entire web marketing strategy on it, but we will see that this is not necessarily a good idea.
- Costly campaigns
In the most competitive circles, a Google Ads campaign can cost a small fortune. Some keywords cost hundreds of dollars each click! In 2021, the average CPC (Cost Per Click) in Google Ads is expected to be between $1 and $2 on the search network and less than $1 on the display network. Consider how much it would cost to acquire a single term that produces thousands of searches. As a result, it’s critical to consider your SEA approach carefully before getting started.
- More money, more traffic
You are merely a « tenant » of your rental in SEA. In other words, if you stop paying, you will become invisible again, although SEO does not work in this way. So, putting all of your eggs in the SEA basket isn’t a long-term strategy because it will leave you completely reliant on Google Ads. Keep in mind that a business can face difficulties at any time, and if it is unable to pay for its advertisements, it will become trapped in a downward spiral. As a result, it’s preferable to have a variety of tricks in your sleeve.
In Summary – SEO vs SEA
Some industries are fortunate enough to be able to rely purely on SEO, avoiding the often-unfavourable rivalry that SEA brings. In truth, in the vast majority of circumstances, choosing between SEO and SEA is unnecessary; instead, both channels should be used to their full potential. SEA aids in generating quick turnover and establishing a presence, whilst SEO allows you to establish a long-term position. While you’re performing your different optimisations, SEA can help compensate for certain SEO flaws. In general, each site should implement a multi-channel strategy in order to increase its online presence while maximising its return on investment.
Because customers trust Organic Results significantly more than Ad Results, the long-term ROI for well-managed SEO far outperforms SEA, with the extra benefit of not having to pay for every click. However, if you need an immediate and focused spike in traffic to your website, SEA’s short-term gain potential is tremendous.
