Search Engine Optimisation Or Bought Advertising: The Discussion Rolls On

April 13, 2010 by toto

In any trade there will always be discussion about differing processes. In traditional marketing there will be differing ideas about the merits of print against broadcast. In internet marketing the debate continues, centred on the merits of pay per click marketing against using search engine optimisation to improve the organic search engine positioning. Each process will always have its proponents. This was the core of one of the more animated meetings at a recent search marketing forum.

In bigger enterprises with large publicity teams there may be a distinct online marketing team with a mixture of people to perform both types of work. The two approaches draw on two types of personality. Those dealing with bought marketing want to see the impact of their efforts faster, even if it may be adventurous or quite costly.

search engine optimisation can be seen as a more creative technique. The search optimization specialist takes a longer view, gradually building the reputation of the company’s domain through clever content and inching its way to the top of the organic search listings. He may get involved with other marketing areas trying to apply optimisation processes to their work for everyone’s gain. With the creation of abstracts that are used to publicise the domain and lift its reputation, this can be a slow process.

For a smaller enterprise, employing anyone in-house for search optimization can be a luxury. The company’s own webmaster may be capable of applying some of the process, but will not have the luxury of available time to give the technique the long term support it deserves. This is where it is sensible to use the services of a professional search engine optimisation company that has the knowledge required to improve the placement over time.

Pay per click could be useful for a seasonal media campaign. Additional keywords come in to play at some times of year that long term search optimization would not be able to react to. Is this the time to use something like Google AdWords? Many would argue that any use of AdWords is wasted money, especially at a time of year when there is going to be plenty of competition for those seasonal keywords. If you require your pay per click advert to be seen at a time of intense competition then your company will be involved in a bidding spiral with your competitors to display your advert. How much you pay can vary according to the time of day. It is true that you only incur a charge when your advert has been clicked, but there is no guarantee it is going to appear at all. In addition, it is widely known for new clients to deliberately bypass sponsored results, preferring to depend on organic search result placement.

It has been known for enterprises to start using bought marketing as a way of enticing visitors to the domain but then stop using it as the increased organic search engine positioning is achieved. It has been said that running a pay per click publicity campaign can spoil the organic results placement that has already been attained by optimisation, so is wasting your publicity budget. Paid advertising could work for a short term campaign, but search engine optimisation can reap dividends in increased search engine positioning over a longer time and is not dependent on bought marketing being seen.