Search Advertising (Google Ads Search) and SEO are the two main methods of Search Engine Marketing (Marketing through Google search engine) and also the two most effective channels when you implement a Digital Marketing campaign. But is SEO or Google Ads the best choice for businesses?
Both platforms have common characteristics, but they also have their own differences. Therefore, in order to decide which method is best suited for your company, you need to carefully consider the reality of your business at the time, of course, with this, You must find common ground between your goals, your marketing strategy and the benefits of these two methods.
In this article, SEONGON will analyze the advantages and disadvantages of these two tools, and more importantly, give advice on which platform to choose for your business.
Overview of Google Ads Search and SEO
Google is the most popular search engine in the world and in Vietnam. Most of us "Google" when any need arises. Businesses want to reach users must appear on the front page of search results, the higher the position the better. There are 2 types of results that appear:
1. Search results from Google ads: Are the search results in bold / highlighted in the first 3-4 positions or the last 2 - 3 positions of the search page and with the word "advertisement" " next.
2. Natural search results (also known as SEO results): Search results are displayed naturally in the middle of advertising results.
The main difference between Google Ads Search and SEO - besides display location - is the time and investment cost.
1. With Google Ads Search: Your results will appear in the first position right away. However you will have to pay for each click of the user into the search results.
2. With SEO: You will need to spend a lot of time and effort to build reputable and useful websites and content for users to be "TOP". However you will not have to pay Google, every click on SEO results is free.
Above are the most basic differences, we will further analyze the advantages and disadvantages of Google Ads Search and SEO
Google Ads Search
Advantages of Google Ads Search
1. Bring the effect quickly
As mentioned above, just create a campaign and add money to your Google advertising account, you will be prioritized to appear in front of thousands of potential customers, and if you do well, you will have conversions and revenue immediately. instant.
In addition, Google is currently applying Machine Learning technology to support advertisers. So in the process of monitoring and controlling account statements, you will gradually understand how to optimize costs, increase conversion efficiency to get more potential customers.
2. Building brand awareness
With Google ads, you only pay per click. So even if users don't click on your ad, they still see and remember your brand (for free!).
See the statistics below
3.Remarket with people who have visited the website.
Another great thing about Google Ads Search (and the Google advertising system in general) is that you can remarket again to people who have visited your website before.
For example:
A user came to your website to see a men's suit, but this time he just reference and has no intention of buying. A week later he had a real need to buy and ... to search on Google again. With Remarketing Search, you can show ads with personalized content to this person such as:
"Don't miss the suit you liked earlier"
→ Your chances of selling will be higher.
Learn more about Google Remarketing.
4. Measure advertising effectiveness easily
Google has developed a very detailed advertising control, measurement and optimization system. The prerequisite is that you need to have the correct "conversion" installed on your website. You will know clearly whether each click through your ad is profitable or not, how much revenue ... and which keywords / ads are most effective.
Disadvantages of Google Ads Search
1. Complicated and highly specialized
You can start installing Google Ads campaigns relatively easily, and achieve some positive results with only a little basic knowledge. But in the long run, to compete and improve efficiency sustainably - you need very deep expertise.
This is because the number of ads displayed on Google Search is limited, while currently the number of competitors is very large in most industries.
The Google Ads reporting, measurement and optimization system is very detailed, so it's also very complicated. You must understand and combine dozens, even hundreds of different indicators to optimize advertising effectiveness.
Unless you specialize in e-commerce business, SEONGON recommends that you consider searching Google advertising experts to build and optimize your advertising system for businesses. This costs less than tinkering and wasting money on trial and error.
2. The level of competition is very high
As analyzed above, the Google Ads advertising market is extremely competitive in most industries. Any company big and small when it comes to online marketing will jump into Google Ads and Facebook Ads first.
Google's role and importance are increasing in reaching and increasing potential customers. Therefore, companies have and will pour a lot of money to dominate keywords and good positions. And to win, you need a reasonable strategy, adequate resources and time to optimize. If not careful, you will spend a lot of money and still fail in the competition.
Sounds like a gamble, right?
3. In the long term, generally the cost for Google Ads is huge
You will have to spend money constantly advertising to maintain your position on Google. As soon as you stop advertising (or your card runs out of money ^^), the ad will not appear and competitors will take away your customers. Unlike SEO results will not go away when you stop spending money.
4. Restrictions come from Google's policies
Some industries are restricted or banned by Google such as: Alcohol, beer, cigarettes, 18+ products, 3rd party services (repair, ink refill ...)
Details at: https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/6008942?hl=en
If you work in these industries, the only opportunity for you to reach customers on Google is SEO.
SEO
Advantages of SEO
1. (Almost) free
Unlike Google, when your results appear to users and they click, you won't lose any money. This is why in most websites in the world, they attach great importance to SEO because it helps them to have hundreds of thousands - even millions of free monthly traffic.
With no-cost-per-click (CPC), in the long term (6 - 9 months or more), SEO is more cost effective than Google Ads a lot. The only cost to pay is to hire an SEO agency to improve your website rankings, and the maintenance fee is negligible.
2. Reach more potential customers
If you run Google Ads Search ads, to ensure ROAS (revenue on advertising costs) you will only focus on the group of keywords that generate the most conversions, representing 2 - 5% of customers in need. biggest. And 95 - 98% of potential customers (but do not need to buy immediately) will be left. If you advertise to this group, the cost of advertising will be too great and you will not make a final profit.
With SEO is different - because you do not have to pay CPC, you will expand your reach to potential customers a lot.
With the actual project of SEONGON, customers use SEO services only half the cost of Google Ads services but SEO traffic brings clearly superior.
Traffic of the above project by SEO is superior to Google Ads:
From practical projects implemented by SEONGON, it is more economical in the long term for SEO and more accessible to customers than Google Ads.
3. Traffic from SEO has better conversions.
Before coming to this section, you should refer to the latest Bright Edge report on the influence and importance of Organic Search (natural search) on a company's marketing campaigns.
Download documents here.
Users who access the website through Google often have a clearer need and are therefore easier to convert than other channels.
Especially users access the website through natural search results (SEO), they are more trusting and reputation of the brand than advertising results. So the conversion rate from SEO is higher than Google Ads Search.
Important update: Currently, besides search ads, Google offers shopping ads (Google Shopping) right on the search results page and has a better conversion rate than regular SEO results thanks to the location that appears and comes with images. /price. But Google Shopping is only limited to physical products and comes with a few other strict policies.
4. SEO investment brings about more sustainable efficiency
With Google Ads, you get up so easily. When there are multiple competitors competing on a similar product / service group, the cost of advertising will increase immediately - and by one point, it will exceed the profits you get. Because Google Ads is easy to get started, as well as quick to create - your number of competitors will be greater. As soon as you stop spending money on advertising, you will disappear from the eyes of customers
In the opposite direction, with SEO you are hard to up so hard to be down. The first is the cost and content barrier for content. To SEO to TOP many keywords, you need to have a website that is both technical and optimal for users. Besides, you need to have a lot of content and TIME long enough for Google to evaluate your website reputation with users. Because of these barriers, competitors in SEO will be less than in Advertising.
SEO results are also more sustainable. Even if you do nothing, your website will keep ranking for 3-6 months. The maintenance cost after that is also very low.
In short, investing in SEO means that your traffic and brand are always growing.
DISADVANTAGES OF SEO
This is also the reason many businesses "hesitate to do SEO" methodically. Let's find out.
1. Take a long time to get good rankings
Except for a few SEO tips to help your website reach the TOP quickly (but dropping the TOP is also fast) - doing SEO basically takes a lot of time and effort. SEONGON's experience in implementing SEO projects is usually from 6 to 12 months to achieve the best results.
Compared to Google Ads easy to do, easy to effective immediately, it is very different!
2. It takes more time to get revenue from SEO
During SEO, the revenue effect brought about almost zero. Everything only starts to flourish when the website reaches good rankings in many keywords. For this reason, many businesses do not want to invest in SEO.
In case of concerns about the effectiveness of SEO, SEONGON often advises businesses to advertise Google first to verify.
Or you can use both methods in parallel.
3. Google's algorithm
The huge benefits from SEO make SEOers find ways to reach the TOP in the shortest time - resulting in search results on Google no longer quality. To solve this problem, Google is constantly updating algorithms to remove search results that are not useful to users.
If they violate these algorithms, lightly, Google will drop the ranking - heavy, it will be removed from search results permanently. And you only have water to start from the beginning.
Many SEO organizations and individuals often apply these tips, so they can offer businesses with super cheap prices and "heavenly" commitments. Maybe after a short time to TOP your website will never appear on Google again.
To avoid this situation, you must become an expert, or you should select reputable agencies and comply with Google policies to accompany. If you are in doubt, try checking them with the following questions:
- Which projects have you guys SEOs, with customers?
- Please show us the results achieved, will this result last a long time? Real evidence?
- What is your SEO plan? SEO roadmap like? Which method is used to put the website on the TOP? (For those who use tricks for SEO, they often don't have a clear plan - and use prohibited methods like Backlink, copy or reprogram content on other websites ...)
Compare Google Ads and SEO: WHAT TO CHOOSE?
The answer to this article's title is: There is no better way. If you have the resources, do both. Left, please base on different situations to make decisions. A few tips of SEONGON in choosing:
1. If you have never run Google Ads or SEO and are concerned about efficiency, try Google Ads first.
2. If you have already done 1 of the 2 but it did not work, you can try the other one.
3. If you have done 1 of the 2 effects effectively, you should still do the rest. SEO vs Google Ads do not conflict with each other, but help each other to increase the efficiency of your marketing campaign.
4. If you are a small business, the budget is limited to be effective immediately, select Google Ads
5. If you are a business that has operated stably, needs to gain an advantage over competitors and expand sales in the medium and long term, choose SEO.
...
N. If you are unable to plan for yourself, find it difficult to do SEO yourself and run Google Ads, use SEONGON's in-depth Google Ads or overall SEO service.
Please contact SEONGON, we will advise you.
SEONGON - Google Marketing Agency
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