Did you know there are over 5 billion Google searches per day? Consumers search the web daily for new products and services. Appearing in that search is how businesses advertise their offerings and acquire new customers. So how do you make your business appear in those searches and how do you stand out among competitors? Organic search or paid search. Organic search focuses on unpaid ranking results, whale paid search focuses on paid rankings. Basically, you can pay for your business to appear when consumers search for something you offer. There are pros and cons to each search option. Let’s break down organic search vs paid search.
Organic Search
Organic search is the use of Search Engine Optimization(SEO) to optimize your site’s visibility in search results and rank higher. SEO is optimizing what you put online so that it appears as a top search result when a user searches for certain keywords. It helps increase traffic to your site by incorporating these target keywords that users are searching most often. You can use several tools for SEO management, such as Spyfu, Google Keyword Planner, Google Analytics, Seolyzer, and so many more! Organic search is an unpaid search option, but can take a lot of time to build up. There is also the time commitment of researching keywords and strategizing SEO. Organic search results in organic traffic to your site, which often lasts for a longer time period than traffic from paid search. This allows you to build your credibility, as users will trust websites that are organically appearing first.
Paid Search
Paid search is paying for distinct placement in search results. Instead of utilizing just SEO, you can pay for your content to show up in a more noticeable spot, usually the top or bottom of the search results page. Paid search allows your site to rank faster on searches. You can use Google Ads to set a budget and set up ads that work for you! Using the pay per click option, you do not pay until someone clicks on your ad. This works by choosing the location for the ad to appear, using keywords in your ad, creating the ad with paying options, and launching it. Usually, the site with the highest rank among the words search appears first. Paid search requires a goal to be set in order to measure the results properly. You want to make sure you are generating traffic and have a profitable conversion rate. Paid search can help grow your business at a faster rate than organic search using targeted ads for the audience you know will purchase.
Ultimately, the search option you choose depends on your resources and goals. When comparing organic search vs paid search options, both can be utilized throughout your marketing efforts. Organic search is more natural and longer lasting when done successfully, while paid search can generate more customers quicker, but only lasts as long as you pay for that presence.
