The question of whether to employ Pay Per Click (PPC) or Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) or both is a question that often comes up in our quest to attain higher search engine ranks and drive targeted traffic to our site.

My purpose here is to give you enough information to help you make the best search marketing decision for your business. The information here is by no means exhaustive and it is always advisable that you complement your information with additional research.

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Let me first define the two terms, then examine the differences between the two forms of search engine marketing (SEM) and then look at the advantages that each offers.

Pay Per Click or PPC as it is most commonly known is a form of search engine marketing (SEM) that allows advertisers to influence their ad placement on a sponsored list by bidding on key words or phrases.

PPC can be banner ads but are usually text based ads that appear next to your organic or natural search results. Most times when marketers discuss PPC they are thinking of Google, Yahoo and MSN. You must keep in mind that there are smaller search engines that can generate targeted traffic at a fraction of the cost of the major search engines.

That said, I will begin by pointing out a few facts. There are millions of users online at any one time and about 70 to 85 % of users use search engines to find information. Most of these searches are on the three major search engines, with Google enjoying the major share, followed by Yahoo and MSN.

To put this into perspective; what these stats say you is that the search engines are central to any marketing strategy irrespective of whether you opt for PPC or SEO.

Having a website does not automatically generate success so it is essential to employ some method of generating traffic to your site. Whether you choose one or both may to a large extent depend on your marketing objectives and/or budget.

There are smaller search engines such as Neva, GoClick and Enhance that offer PPC campaigns at a fraction of the cost of major search engines. You may wish to consider them if you are new to PPC or if your advertising budget is limited. Although the traffic there is considered to be of a lesser quality than that that of Google, Yahoo and MSN you can still generate some quality qualified leads.

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SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is a form of Search Engine Marketing that depends on the search engines to generate rankings. It involves marketers optimising their site to influence where their page is positioned when a key word is researched on the search engines. Search engine results are often referred to as natural search or organic search. The results you see when a search is done on search engine are dependent on how a page is optimised.

PPC and SEO each offer a number of benefits and any serious marketer would be wise to employ both PPC and SEO.

PPC offers the advantage of bringing instant traffic to your site. SEO on the other hand takes about four (4) to six (6) months before you begin to see any results on the search engines.

If you offer a time sensitive product, introducing a new product or new site or do not wish to wait to drive targetted traffic to your site then it may be wise to invest in PPC. PPC is highly recommended at the design stage of your site since it allows you to test variations in your website design, landing page or a headline.

PPC allows you to instantly make changes to your site, since it allows you to instantly test and measure what works and what does not and respond to changes in your market environment. With PPC you are in control of your ad placement.

With PPC your campaign is determined by the amount of funds in your account. When this fund expires your campaign comes to a halt.

SEO on the other hands does not bring instant traffic and with many sites competing for the same words it cannot be difficult to get listed on the first page of the search engine results page (SERP) to generate enough traffic to your site

SEO requires that you spend significant time developing quality link partnerships as well as monitoring your site for changes in search position and tweaking it to influence your position. However it requires less attention than a PPC campaign.

In addition you make to your SEO campaign may take weeks or months to notice a change, which is almost instantaneous in the PPC world.

When using SEO you do not have to pay whenever your site is click and the issue of fraudulent clicks is not a factor. This is not the same in the case of PPC where you have to pay when a visitor clicks the sponsored link that takes them to your site. With SEO your appearance on the search engine results pages (SERPs) are not dependent on your advertising budget.

With SEO you are at the mercy of the search engine which may change their algorithm at any point and affect your placement or have not site de-listed because your site no longer meet their standards. The same cannot be said for PPC; your placement lies in your own hands.

As you can see each tool has its merits. The decision to use SEO or PPC should be determined by your business model, marketing goals, objectives and resources. To gain the most out of your marketing budget it is advisable that you employ both strategies. It is recommended that you use PPC to gain short term marketing advantages and use SEO to solidify your long term place within your niche.

Ultimately, your business success will be determined by your knowledge of your product and customers and your ability to take advantages of the benefits offered by each tool.

Recommended PPC Resources For Your SEM Arsenal

Success in your campaign!