Sunday, March 6, 2011

SEO Vs Adwords Versus Social Media Marketing - Which Technique Do I Choose?

By Susie Hogan


It is a challenge for any company that really wants to stand out on the web. Google has over a billion websites listed alone! All these websites are competing with yours for clicks. So how do you keep your head above the water? A knowledgeable SEO company will be able to help with SEO services but what about the other methods

The way we do business has very recently completely changed. Going back just a bit, the Internet wasn't where people bought their products and services. Either that or they could simply walk up the high street, and have all the shop fronts to choose from. The Internet has spun buying habits on its head. If you can't wait for next day delivery, you do still have the shops. However they aren't used as much as they were. For those businesses wanting to find customers and get their name out there, there are three main methods- using an SEO company, a social media agency, or using pay per click.

Internet marketers tend to expertise in one of the three methods. There are those companies that specialise in all areas, but they are few and far between. Let's have a look at each different method and compare the advantages and disadvantages.

The holy grail of the Internet marketer is search engine optimisation. You are presented with two separate lists of results when you search on Google. Paid adverts feature on the right. Prominantly, in the middle are natural, or organic results. These listings are unpaid and are in a nutshell, what Google deems worthy of being up there! Imagine being able to appear at the top of these listings. Better still, what if you could get in the top three, or even take the top position. Being able to do so can bring in masses of potential customers and is why a good SEO company is worth its weight in gold. Search engine optimisation is achieved by a number of methods. Onsite optimisation includes getting the titles and headers right. Secondly a good SEO company will be very good at link building. The art of link building involves encouraging other websites to link to your website. It is very basically, when website X puts a link to you. What about the disadvantages with SEO? But what about the disadvantages involved with SEO marketing? It is actually hard to fault SEO, because if you are exceptionally good at it, the benefits are enourmous. You could perhaps point out that Google can be unpredictable. A method that you have been using successfully can suddenly stop working. However, there are many different methods which a good SEO company will keep on top with.

If you don't have the patience for SEO, then Pay Per Click advertising is worth considering. You can bid to be listed on the right hand side with pay per click. You can to an extent determine exactly where you appear. A good advert will encourage people to click through. With organic results you can't control what appears. Pay per click is also instant- you can be up and advertising in no time. It can take months and months to hit even the top ten in Google, and even then you have no guarantees at all. Pay per click allows you to pay your way to the top right away. Granted a good Adwords management company will be able to optimise and squeeze every last penny out of your campaign. However Adwords really is for the big boys and you can end up bidding for more than the product is worth if you aren't careful. A good SEO company will cost a lot less in the long run.

Unless you have been living in an air raid bunker for the last few years, you must have encountered social media! Just about everyone has an account with Facebook or Twitter. Who was shocked when their parents added them on Facebook? More and more companies are using social media to reach their customers. Social media is a very different form of advertising, as it is much more subtle. You should never try and sell with social media. Social media is all about creating fans, who in turn 'tweet' about or 'like' your company and tell their friends. A good social media company can definitely help you with this form of advertising, but do be aware it is very different to traditional forms.




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