The evergreen debate between SEO and Google Adwords lives on. What is considered the best way for the content of your business to be found? In my previous article, I discussed how paid searches in social media are only a sail to a ship. If your content doesn’t speak to your target prospects, then paying for your audience to show up at your door isn’t going to make up for bad creative. In theory, the same concept applies to SEO and AdWords, in the sense that they should complement instead of competing with each other. For optimal search queries, the stage of your business is also relevant; regardless use both AdWords in parallel with SEO to start getting traffic to your website.
I always say you can bring a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. If the content of your website isn’t efficient, then even with AdWords your chances of converting a prospect to a lead is slim. Imagine SEO and Adwords to take on the form of a birthday cake – The cake itself is Content, Platform, and Infrastructure, while the icing on the cake is: Links, SEM, and Social. If your cake isn’t a viable, delicious medium for your user, the icing is only as good as the cake, which isn’t good at all.
So how do you differentiate the two, and how do you know when to use either? Well, it’s tricky because Google’s agenda does play into this. More visitors are likely interested in organic results than an ad, as they’re the ones who searched for what’s coming up. But, Google’s revenue stream comes from ads, so for you to push your content all the way to the front, you’ll have to bid for the proper words. If you’re a new company that is just starting out, I encourage you to optimize Adwords to be discovered, considering your click through content isn’t where you would like it to be just yet. Adwords generate results faster than SEO.
On the other hand, once your Adwords campaign is over, optimized SEO content will dominate search traffic in the long run. This isn’t an overnight success, it involves creating thoughtful content, perfecting site performance and user experience while maintaining cross-device compatibility. Good SEO depends on the fresh content, with reliable internal and external links. If you begin to decline in your SEO strategy, the lower your page will be on Google. If you’re an established company, you’ll likely need to worry less about Adwords because the search rate will be significantly higher for you than a startup.
In all, focus on your long-term strategy. Adwords will generate results, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it can keep or retain a customer. Constantly building content with quality is what will enhance organic searches, and although it requires more sweat it’s a long term journey for success. Be aware of what lifecycle stage your company is in because that also determines how much and how often to work on Adword Campaigns. Regardless, one is not better than the other, they just yield different results. Using the two in conjunction will only compliment your business, and will attract the proper audience for your particular company.
