The Advantages of Organic SEO Marketing Over PPC

/in /by

When business owners and webmasters decide on how to go about marketing their enterprise, one question they usually ask themselves is organic SEO marketing or PPC?

Search Engine Optimization Puzzle

For those unaware of what both these terms are, let’s define them quickly. Organic SEO marketing is the name given to the process of increasing site visibility by using holistic methods. PPC, otherwise known as pay-per-click, is a pay-as-you-go advertising method, for example, Google AdWords.

There a number of advantages when it comes to each, but overall, organic SEO marketing wins out. Here’s why.

The Cost

Organic SEO services can cost a fair amount of money, depending on the size of your site and the depth of the campaign you want to run. Still, that amount of money is nothing compared to what you’d have to shell out on pay-per-click advertising to achieve the same result. If you’re in a competitive niche such as law or medicine, you could be paying anywhere between $5-15 for a single click. Unless you have deep pockets, this isn’t affordable in the long run.

Trust

While a PPC marketing campaign will get you seen, it won’t improve your brand’s reputation. The reason for that is because anybody could buy a PPC advert. It requires no level or expertise and says nothing about a business. With organic SEO, your SEO company (assuming you use one) will be ranking you highly on many of the world’s top search engines. Naturally that means something to customers.

Long-term Results

PPC adverts can net you money in the short-term, but they’ll do nothing for you in the long run unless you keep paying for your ads. When you make use of organic SEO services however, your results will last long into the future.

That’s why search engine optimization and organic SEO marketing really do offer great value for money.

Wider Scope

We talk a lot about Google when mentioning SEO. The reality is though, that there are other search engines out there that can also provide us with a lot of traffic. Yahoo, Jeeves and Bing, for example. According to stats, 30% of people searching for information don’t use Google. That means an organic SEO marketing campaign is going to get a site seen by more people than if you were using a paid advert. As traffic is the name of the game when it comes to being successful online, this reason is massive.

The Whole Package

You don’t need to be an organic SEO consultant to know just how valuable this marketing technique can be. Hopefully you can now see what it offers after reading through this article. While PPC advertising has its uses, if you were going to choose between the two, organic SEO just offers so much more.

Save PPC for those times when you want quick results. Make organic SEO the lifeblood of your online venture.

Is Mobile SEO as Important as Google Says?

/in /by

The Google Mobile-Friendly Update, infamously called “Mobilegeddon”, was launched last April. This new algorithm was designed to reward mobile-friendly webpages by giving their ranking a boost in Google’s mobile search results. Essentially, a user who is performing a Google search from a phone or tablet is given search results showing websites that are designed to fit their devices.

Mobile SEO

Technically, Mobilegeddon does not affect desktop searches; websites without a mobile version are only excluded from mobile search results. According to Google, a mobile-friendly website should contain readable text that does not require zooming, content that fits the screen so the user does not have to scroll horizontally, and links that are spaced far enough from each other so that they can be easily tapped.

Is Mobile SEO Really Necessary?

According to a Google survey of mobile users, YES. In this survey:

  • 72% of mobile users say that it is important to them that websites are mobile-friendly
  • 79% say they will go back to the search engine and try to find another website if yours is not mobile-friendly
  • 67% are more likely to buy a product or use a service from a mobile-friendly website

Increased Visits from Mobile Users

As Google starts tagging websites that are optimized for mobile as “mobile-friendly” in its mobile search results, websites that are not labeled as such will inevitably start seeing a decline in their click-through rate (CTR). Why? Well, if a user performs a search with their mobile device and 3 out of the top 5 results are labeled as “mobile-friendly”, the user will most likely click on any of the 3 results that Google identifies as mobile-friendly. Over time, there will be less click-throughs for websites that are not mobile-friendly, as more mobile users pay attention to those that are.

Higher Mobile Rankings

Aside from giving mobile-friendly websites higher mobile search rankings and demoting those that are not, Google is taking a step further by using the “mobile-friendly” designation as a ranking factor to promote websites that are optimized for mobile. As mentioned in a recent Google blog post that announced the new “mobile-friendly” labels, “We see these labels as a first step in helping mobile users to have a better mobile web experience. We are also experimenting with using the mobile-friendly criteria as a ranking signal.”

Increased Revenue from Mobile-Friendly Websites

Having a mobile-friendly website at a time when majority of your target audience uses mobile devices to find products and services they need is a competitive advantage that will consequently result to increased income. As more consumers turn to mobile-friendly sites that give them better user experience, your mobile visibility allows you to effectively connect with your target market and eventually close a sale online or physically drive potential customers towards your business.

The Next Steps for Your Mobile SEO Strategy

To check if your business website is classified as mobile-friendly, do a Google search of your company using your mobile device. In the search engine results page, the label “Mobile-friendly” can be seen on the left side of the snippet just below your webpage URL. You can also use Google’s mobile-friendly test to easily check whether Google sees your webpage as mobile friendly.

If your website is not labeled as mobile-friendly, there are 2 options to getting good with Google. You can create a mobile website (m.domain) which is linked with your existing website, or build an entirely new responsive website that will work across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices. If you are ready to revamp your entire web presence, responsive web design is highly recommended. With responsive web design, you will have just 1 URL so it will be more convenient in terms of checking analytics.

Conclusion

Mobile traffic is increasing at an exponential rate, and the steps that Google has taken are a clear indicator that businesses must implement a solid mobile SEO strategy to remain competitive. Having a properly optimized website for mobile search is no longer an option, but a means to ensure you achieve high mobile rankings, greater market reach, and even higher revenues.

What You Need to Consider When Performing International SEO

/in /by

You already know how important SEO is when it comes to the promotion of your website and your business, but if you’re attempting to break into new markets around the globe, it’s time to look into what international SEO is all about as well.

World Hands

Royalty free photo

Check out the information below if you’re planning on implementing international SEO strategies throughout your website, as there are certain things that you need to consider while you tackle this important promotional tactic.

Don’t Merely Translate Your Text

One of the most common mistakes made by website owners who want to incorporate international SEO is simply translating the text that’s on their pages. A lot of people end up using free apps that aren’t all that accurate, resulting in damage to the company’s brand and ultimately being useless for SEO.

Remember that different languages use different phrasing, so what you say in English may not make sense when you translate each word in a sentence without considering the nuances of that language. Therefore, stick to hiring a professional translation agency for the best results.

Google Isn’t the Most Popular Search Engine in Every Country

Even though Google is a hugely popular global company, the truth is that it isn’t the most widely used search engine in several countries, including China, Japan, Russia, the Czech Republic, and South Korea. In those countries, other search engines, such as Seznam (Czech Republic), Naver (South Korea), Yandex (Russia), and Baidu (China), are more popular. Therefore, you should become familiar with each country’s preferred search engine’s SEO tips and rules.

Be Aware of Different Trends in Different Cultures

Another thing you need to consider is the fact that various cultures throughout the world will have their own trends. So while people in the UK might be searching for Christmas throughout November and December, as an example, other cultures may be celebrating a totally different holiday, or none at all, at that time of year. Being aware of various cultures and their individual trends, from the music that they like to the holidays that they celebrate, is key to being able to implement SEO strategies that will make your site show up in search results.

When In Doubt, Hire Experts to Help

SEO experts, as well as marketing experts like Sioux Falls Marketing, are available to help you optimize your website for your home country as well as for countries throughout the world. So if you find yourself struggling to figure out what search engines you need to optimize your site for, or the different trends that you need to be aware of, hiring outside experts could be the best option, as it will save you a lot of time and frustration.

Once your international SEO tactics have been implemented, you’ll be able to effectively reach a much wider, global audience and hopefully increase conversions, as well as your popularity, throughout the world. So even though it does require quite a bit of effort, the rewards will definitely make all the hard work worthwhile.