Which is best: SEO vs AdWords?

The world has gone online. Thanks to the Internet, we are no longer separated by physical boundaries — our world is a “global village” indeed. People across the globe can connect with one another via social media platforms, online channels, and digital media. Everything you want can reach your doorstep. All you have to do is go online, search for the product or service you want, and with a few clicks, it’s yours! 

Even the business and marketing world has shifted online, and how could it not? As of 2019, there are around 4.39 billion active internet users, 5.11 billion mobile users, and 3.48 billion social media users in the world.

Given that billions of people are practically living on the Internet and even making their livelihood from it, businesses can no longer afford to overlook online marketing, better known as Digital Marketing. With the rising popularity of digital marketing, an increasing number of entrepreneurs and marketers are opting for SEO training and digital marketing certifications.

Why is online marketing important?

Online marketing has become crucial in the modern-day business scenario because:

1. It promises better visibility

Online marketing strategies like search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing can boost your website’s visibility and improve your search engine rankings. If your website and pages are SEO optimized and your content is of high-quality, you will inevitably rank higher in SERPs (search engine result pages). Consequently, people can find you easily on the web. 

2. It drives traffic to your website

The higher you rank in the SERPs, the easier it will be for netizens to find you. Hence, if you invest in proper online marketing techniques and strategies, it will provide a huge boost to your website traffic. More and more people will come to your website, thereby increasing your lead prospects as well.

3. It helps level the playing field

Earlier, it was impossible for small businesses to even think of competing with big players in the game. However, with the advent of online marketing, tables have turned. Today, even small businesses can expand their business reach, just like big enterprises, through social media channels, websites, and a strong digital presence by staying active.

4. It is cost-effective

Unlike traditional marketing practices (TV & radio ads, banners, flyers, etc.), online marketing solutions do not require huge investments and spending on ads. When compared to conventional marketing approaches, website design/development, content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, etc. require a small sum of money to be up and running. 

5. It helps generate better revenues

Since online marketing methods lead better and higher conversion rates, eventually, it helps generate higher profits and revenues. In fact, businesses using online marketing strategies hold 2.8 times better revenue growth expectancy.

What is SEO?

SEO or search engine optimization refers to the technique of obtaining and driving web traffic through free and organic searches on search engines. While SEO aims to increase the quantity of traffic driving towards your website, it also focuses on the quality of traffic. 

Here’s what SEO entails once we break it down into parts:

• Organic searches – Organic searches refer to the traffic you gain through natural and free searches and not via paid ads. 
• Quantity of traffic – By making your site/pages SEO optimized, you can increase your site’s visibility on search engines, thereby providing a significant boost to the number of people visiting your website. 
• Quality of traffic – Every business has a target audience. SEO aims to attract the target audience that will resonate the most with your content and your products/services. In other words, SEO helps you target the right audience for your business that can help expand your business. 

What is AdWords?

AdWords is an advertising service designed by Google. It allows marketers/advertisers to bid on specific keywords so that their clickable ads can appear in Google’s search results. AdWords lets you set an advertising budget for your online marketing efforts, and you only have to pay when people click on your paid ads. Hence, it can be viewed as the paid version of SEO to drive traffic to your site.

Business owners and marketers can use Google AdWords to create relevant ads using particular keywords that are the most searched for on Google. When people search for those keywords, it triggers your advertisements that appear on the top right-corner or above Google search results under “Sponsored Links.” When people click on the sponsored ads, Google directs them to your site.  

Is SEO better than Adwords? 

When it comes to online marketing, both SEO and AdWords are pivotal tools for creating effective digital marketing campaigns. Both have unique advantages and disadvantages. For instance, SEO is free, whereas AdWords requires you to pay to get traffic. 

However, the biggest advantage of AdWords is that it can help generate tangible results much faster than SEO. Also, it is much easier to calculate the ROI using AdWords than using SEO because SEO involves numerous factors apart from revenue and ad spending. 

Long story short – both SEO and AdWords are essential for devising and implementing a comprehensive online marketing strategy. Since both target web traffic in their distinct ways, you must leverage both through your online marketing strategy to ensure a well-rounded and long-term online success. 

Why gain SEO skills?

As online marketing continues to strengthen its foothold in the marketing domain, acquiring SEO skills has become fundamental, both for aspiring entrepreneurs and those who are already in the marketing business. Every professional working in the Digital Marketing domain must have a basic knowledge of SEO concepts and techniques. In fact, companies are highly likely to hire professionals who have extensive knowledge of online marketing, and SEO is an integral component of it. 

The best way to acquire SEO skills is by enrolling in an SEO training course. There are numerous SEO training courses designed for aspirants of different levels – foundation courses for beginners and advanced courses for professional marketers. These courses include all the essentials of SEO, such as technical SEO, content marketing, schema markup, user intent, user experience, website speed, and link building, to name a few. 

Now the question that remains – are you ready to become an SEO expert?