PPC allows new businesses to advertise within search engine results, often appearing similar to organic listings with small markers indicating “AD” beside the result. Businesses set daily budgets and rules for target keyword bidding processes, paying either each time their ad is clicked (CPC or pay per click) or during broader opportunities determining when an ad is displayed (CPM or cost per thousand)
While brand names for “paid search” have assumed many rebranding efforts, the current market leaders include Google Ads (formerly AdWords), Apple Search Ads & Bing Ads. There are other smaller networks including social media sandboxes such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram & Twitter but for the sake of the paid search vs. organic argument, we will focus on aspects of the search engine process attributed to paid vs. free search results.
Organic traffic refers to anything that appears “organically”, i.e the algorithm has determined that this content is valuable enough for users to be prioritized in search engine results.
Paid traffic refers to anything that appears unnaturally in search, i.e the algorithm has determined using open market bidding processes that the ad content is aligned enough to be eligible for specific keyword-based bidding rates, prioritized by a complex bidding process designed to provide equitable placement in search results.
So what is Paid Search? It’s too often out of reach for small businesses to actually reach meaningful ROI; for most, a short-term gain in a pay-to-play market.
An integrated marketing strategy is capable of enterprise results on practical budgets. Starting with fundamental tech SEO processes such as troubleshooting organic search issues, poor indexation or page speed is part of the routine. Paid Search Efforts cost less when technical foundations are set in place.
Without considerable investment in UX & hosting, server maintenance, and web development, the cost for paid search can be greater than simply CPC. As technical SEO is incrasingly becoming more important for page experience, building it right the first time is the fastest way to improve ROI for digital marketing budgets. The lionEater approach to AdWords and SEO results in lower cost per click, stronger brand reach, and plenty of data to support our next move.