We explore search engine optimisation versus paid Google ads to find out how best to generate more traffic on your brand’s website.
Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the process of making your website more easily searchable through search engines such as Google. This often involves making small changes to your brand’s website in order to make it easier for the search engine to index and display your site in search results. Such small changes can often seem like they’re not worth the effort, but they can help your site move higher up on a search engine’s search results. Think about it: when was the last time you looked past the first page of results on Google?
Increasing the amount of visitors to your brand’s website is one of the ways to increase your business, especially in today’s digitally-oriented environment, where potential clients may use a Google search to find anything from a venue to an AV supplier.
However, while SEO is a great method for drawing organic clicks to your website, paid Google advertising isn’t to be ignored, as digital marketing expert Stephane Ganach, Founder of AdsVentures, explains: “My recommendation is that, when possible, business owners do both SEO and paid Google ads. When you pay someone to do SEO on your website, it’s a long-term process to bring you traffic for free. You do not pay for those clicks, but that it can take time. But with paid ads, any new business can immediately put itself at the top of Google’s results page, above its competitors, and get leads from day one.”
The value of paid ads is that while the initial cost is higher, the results are instantaneous, whereas SEO take time to show results: “With SEO, it might take time and the Google ad results always show
at the top of the page, so even if you are number one in the organic results, you will still have adverts above you. You could have been doing SEO for 10 years, but the paid ads will still be above you.”
Many business owners see the value of digital marketing but can be overwhelmed with exactly how to star. Luckily, the very basics of SEO can be done without hiring an expert and are even laid out in a handy guide provided by Google itself (aptly called SEO Starter Guide). Even something as simple as making sure your website uses clear page titles can increase your clicks. While these tips might not get you straight to the top of the results page, they will certainly put you at an advantage over those businesses which haven’t bothered with SEO at all.
When it comes to producing immediate results, however, it might be best to go to an expert: “We do get enquiries from people who have tried to do it themselves and haven’t gotten as good result as we can achieve, because it’s not their job,” Stephane explained. “It’s like me trying to fix a broken tap in my bathroom. I’m just going to make a mess. We can definitely help businesses save money by generating better results in a shorter amount of time, and let them get on with what they are good at!”