One of the many impacts of the on-going Covid-19 pandemic is the importance of your business having an online presence. Unless you are Primark, who famously reported zero sales back April, very few businesses who sell products to consumers (B2C) or provide services to other businesses (B2B) can thrive without being visible online. The challenge for any such business is twofold: firstly, how can my business be found on the first pages of (e.g.) Google and secondly; what approach will work best for my business? In this article we will discuss both and provide you all with some tips and sound advice.
“How can my business be found online?”
The answer to this question is at first glance, rather simple. Unless you are fortunate enough to be working for a company who is either a well-known brand or is recognised by others as being a market leader in your business sector, any business will need to look at online marketing. There are two well known approaches to being found online; Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) or Pay Per Click (PPC) .
What is Search Engine Optimisation and what are its principle benefits?
SEO quite simply is a process of optimising your business’ website so that you can be found on Google when a potential customer/client types in either a “keyword” or “keyphrase”. We have written several helpful blogs about SEO, which are well worth a read over a coffee or two.
The principle difference between SEO and PPC is that the former should be considered as a medium to long-term objective. If any agency claims they can get your business on the first page of Google via SEO quickly, this should sound alarm bells. Google has long since cottoned onto the so-called “black hat” tactics our most recent post about SEO highlights. The penalties for being caught out by Google can be severe, as this article from last April in Forbes describes.
Patience really can be a virtual when it comes to SEO. There is substantial and quantified independent evidence to suggest that your potential customers/clients trust an organic listing over a paid one.
Why not utilise PPC instead?
PPC’s principle difference and perceived benefit over SEO is that you pay (Google) for your chosen keyword or keyphrase to appear on the top of the first Search Engine page. The Cost Per Click (CPC) is highly dependent on how popular your keyword/phrase is and conversely, how many other companies are wanting to be found for these terms. It is really important that you set a realistic budget and engage with a specialist agency such as CreationADM. The rewards can be significant and quicker than via SEO but without paying due diligence, your business could easily be providing Google with more income without any realistic ROI.
We are here to help.
We successfully manage numerous SEO and PPC campaigns for a hugely diverse range of clients, as part of our full marketing service. Both SEO and PPC have many virtues and a number of pit-falls that we will explain and navigate around respectively. Why not give our Content Marketing team a call today on 0161 236 3939 or complete our contact form for us to contact you.
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