Improving search engine optimization results is a common goal of small to mid-size businesses. There are two popular search approaches by which such companies solve this dilemma – Search Engine Optimization (SEM) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC). However, which approach is best for you and your pie shop business? Is it better to seek organic, first results and seek consumers via search engine results, or is it best to invest in a little bit of PPC campaign and seek potential consumers through paid search ads. The answer, as usual, depends largely on you and your business.

One of the major pros of Search Engine Optimization is that this marketing technique can yield positive results relatively quickly. By optimizing content, the website and its pages gain higher search engine ranking. This means that the website is seen as a top destination for particular keywords. Consistent monitoring of rankings is necessary to ensure that SEM efforts yield the highest benefits. If the website is not visited often, no amount of optimization will help. Paying for ads that appear only when someone searches for a given keyword can be counterproductive.

Another pro of Search Engine Optimization is that companies do not need to be particularly creative or skilled to use this marketing technique. Companies can simply choose keywords relevant to their product and create ad campaigns that list those keywords with advertising text relevant to the product. Companies that lack creativity may wish to hire a professional pay-per-click company or turn to internet marketing companies for their search engine marketing needs.

One of the more obvious cons of Search Engine Optimization is that it can take a long time to see results. Companies that wish to market online will have to dedicate a significant amount of time and money to Search Engine Optimization campaigns. A company may have to pay hundreds of dollars per month in order to gain a high rank on major search engines. For many small business owners, this investment is too steep. For those who have limited budgets, there are other options for advertising on their web pages.

Another con of Search Engine Optimization is that it does not guarantee traffic.

When companies pay for advertising on search engines, they receive a variety of traffic including natural search engines as well as paid advertising. Many people think that advertising on the first page of the search engines results page guarantees immediate traffic. While this is true, paying for traffic does not always guarantee success.

The biggest advantage of Search Engine Optimization is that it can be used to sell a variety of items.

When a company purchases ad space on search engines, they are purchasing both immediate and long term benefits. Advertisements can be targeted towards specific keywords or phrases. These keywords or phrases are the products or services that a company wishes to market.

When a company spends the money on advertisements, they must also invest time researching for relevant keywords and phrases. Doing this can be a tedious and time-consuming process. Paying for traffic may not guarantee success. Instead of spending months creating an effective ad campaign, it may be cheaper and more beneficial to hire a company that specializes in Search Engine Optimization.

As with all things, there are positive and negative aspects of Search Engine Optimization. The primary advantage of this type of advertising is that it targets specific and popular keywords.

• This allows companies to gain a high ranking on search engines quickly and inexpensively.
• The next advantage of this type of campaign is that it is time consuming. Companies can focus on advertising other services, not counting on Search Engine Optimization.
• However, it can also be a disadvantage if the advertisement campaign does not have a good landing page.