SEO optimises websites to attract organic traffic. PPC (pay-per-click) is paid traffic. Each time a user clicks an ad, a fee is paid. Sounds easy to grasp, but for two men, understanding SEO vs. PPC was a struggle.
Two angry men.
I’ve encountered two monuMENtal misunderstandings about SEO vs. PPC. Both happened on the professional business website, LinkedIn. These interactions were so wild that they became laughable. So funny, in fact, that I had to blog about them.
The first guy, we’ll call him John, coz that’s his name, messaged me (all in caps), SEO DOESN’T WORK. John, who doesn’t work in search engine marketing, was schooling me on a subject he admitted he knew nothing about.
“I get piles of cash from paid advertising.”
Thanks for letting me know, John.
“I can treat every day like it’s Saturday. Why? Paid ads.”
To be honest, I treat every day like it’s Saturday; hoodie, joggers—way too many trips to the fridge.
“Organic SEO is how no one sees your stuff. Organic or paid? Hmmm… let’s go with paid.”
Ah.
Organic SEO isn’t a thing. It’s not cheese (more’s the pity). Organic traffic is what you attract… oh, never mind. I couldn’t be arsed to argue because sometimes there are better things to do, like pull your frontal lobe through your nostrils.
The second guy, we’ll call him Mike, coz that’s his name, left some snippy comments on my LinkedIn post.
“I think SEO has a lot to answer for.”
Yeah, on a scale of evil, it’s right up there.
Mike accompanied his comment with a screenshot of paid ads. I assumed, foolishly, he was ‘avin a laugh, so I said summat like, those are paid ads, Mike. You can’t blame SEO for those *smiley face emoji*.
Turns out, he was not ‘avin a laugh.
“This [the paid ads] is what shows up when I search. Are you saying paid ads beat SEO? Oh, yes, of course they do. Silly me *eye-rolling emoji*.”
His screenshot was ads only. He didn’t include the organic results below the ads. Maybe Mike was having a bad day. Maybe Mike was shitposting for lols. Or maybe Mike’s a bona fide arsehole. Regardless, I provided a link to this very article, hoping it would help him understand…
It did not help him understand.
“Seen all this before. People don’t buy companies based on SEO performance. They DO based on PPC because it’s controllable. The algorithm kills SEO quicker than it kills PPC.”
K.
I didn’t understand. Not in the context of my original post anyway. I told Mike I couldn’t teach him anything, for which he agreed, but he did say, “It’s been fun *eye-roll emoji*”. Like my made-up great-aunt, Jemima used to say, you can’t reason with pork; you can only season it.
PPC for the hard of understanding.
PPC equals short-term website visits. A PPC campaign is a great option for new sites wishing to generate early doors traffic. PPC is a standard strategy for websites selling products. Ecomm sites spend thousands promoting their wares.
SEO for the hard of understanding.
SEO equals traffic longevity. A consistent SEO strategy garners a long-term stream of steady traffic. When done correctly, SEO allows websites to maintain a decent ranking.
This is not a competition, fellas.
You don’t have to choose. You can have both coz PPC and SEO offer different benefits depending on your goals. However, traffic acquired through PPC dries up when the ads stop. If you want overall site health, AKA a site that attracts qualified search traffic, INVEST IN SEO.
We love the taste of organic.
Maybe SEO is cheese after all.
Paid ads often target commercial search intent keywords (intent to buy). ‘Stainless steel nipple clamps’ is a good example. Pop that query into Google (I dare you), and the search results will be fully loaded with websites selling stainless steel nipple clamps.
So far, so painful.
Interestingly, PPC campaigns targeting keywords with informational search intent (intent to learn) might not perform well. According to a pretty old article (2016) about how consumers feel about search, we trust organic links more, especially when seeking knowledge. We assume organic links contain trustworthy content.
And according to MOZ, organic links have 20 times more traffic potential than PPC on mobiles and desktops.
I hope this clears up the whole SEO vs. PPC debacle, especially for men who get apoplectic with rage about it. And if it doesn’t, try smiling more.
First published, May 2024.
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