SEO or AdWords, Which is the Best?

Discussion in 'Google' started by bornic, Jun 15, 2008.

  1. #1
    I have question, Which is the best, SEO or AdWords?

    Many times I research about that.

    I got a nice articles about below:

    Most of the people have question who knows internet marketing, which is the best, SEO or AdWords? Many people when they first start out to promote their website realize that Google is the search engine they need to concentrate on because it has the largest market share of traffic overall. However they are then faced with the choice. Do they use SEO as their route to web traffic or Google AdWords.

    In an ideal world where time and money are limitless then doing both would be the obvious choice. However in the real world choices need to be made so which one is best?

    In my opinion I think it depends on your current needs and circumstances. Generally if you are looking to generate traffic quickly and can afford an advertising budget then my preference would be to concentrate on Google AdWords. Certainly if your website is brand new then SEO is probably not the route for you as it can take some months before Google will take new sites seriously enough to rank them for their organic searches.

    However if you have a longer term goal (or no money!) and you can live without much Google traffic for a few months then SEO could be just the ticket because once the traffic starts to roll in it will be free traffic and that is always good for your return on investment figures.

    However let’s add a little more detail on the choice. I’ve listed a few of the key comparison items below that I hope will help you decide on the right approach for your current needs.

    Price:

    SEO is technically free if you do it yourself. I say œtechnically because it will still require a lot of your time and as the saying goes, Time is Money! Also, you will probably want to pay for a subscription to some of the better directories for your chosen business. Certainly you will want to consider the Yahoo directory which is a few hundred dollars last time I looked.

    AdWords obviously isn’t free although you can set daily budgets. Unfortunately it’s very easy to spend money with AdWordsand for the undisciplined it’s very easy to spend too much money!

    Speed:

    AdWords wins hands down here. An Ad from AdWords can be created and will start sending you traffic in minutes. SEO on the other hand can take weeks or even months to start to send you anything approaching decent traffic.

    Competition:

    Which of the two options has the most people competing for your keywords? In my view AdWords is less competitive than SEO. It’s usually far easier to get your keywords to the top position in AdWords than it is using SEO techniques. Like all things there are going to be exceptions but personally I can get my keywords ranking in the top spots far quicker with Adwords than I can with SEO. Some will argue that you just buy yourself to the top of the AdWords lists with expensive clicks but I don’t agree. I can get to the top with some sensible bid prices and good AdWords management.

    Ongoing Maintenance:

    Again, this is my personal opinion but I think AdWords requires more ongoing continued effort to maintain the top spot for your keywords than SEO does. I imagine quite a few SEO experts might argue with this but I have some top performing SEO pages that I rarely touch and they still dominate for their keywords. In fact I know people who have top performing pages who are scared to touch them in case they move down the rankings. That said, I’ll admit that SEO requires significantly more work initially to get those top spots.

    In terms of AdWords, to keep your campaigns performing well you should be checking them often. For me this means every day so that’s why I say that I feel it requires more continued effort. Then again, there is always new links to acquire with SEO but generally once you have a top position links tend to find you.

    In conclusion, I’d suggest going to AdWords if you are in a hurry and have a budget. If you have more time initially to get your traffic then SEO would seem to be your choice. That said, even if you choose Adwords as your preferred route, I would still get some basic on page SEO knowledge because this will help greatly when you write your landing pages for Adwords. By on page SEO, I basically mean how to write your pages so that they are optimised for your chosen keywords.

    Sources: http://www.zeown.com/2008/04/02/seo-or-adwords-which-is-the-best/
     
    bornic, Jun 15, 2008 IP
  2. zexy

    zexy Guest

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    #2
    I use SEO and PPC. Maybe in the long term SEO would be a better option. For instant sales - PPC.
     
    zexy, Jun 15, 2008 IP
  3. astrolynk

    astrolynk Peon

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    #3
    why not SEO and PPC both?
     
    astrolynk, Jun 15, 2008 IP
  4. feras80

    feras80 Well-Known Member

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    #4
    u can use both of them, and then reduce ur budget when u start getting traffic from organic search.
     
    feras80, Jun 15, 2008 IP
  5. Brandon Sheley

    Brandon Sheley Illustrious Member

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    #5
    I would try both ;)
     
    Brandon Sheley, Jun 15, 2008 IP
  6. Freewebspace

    Freewebspace Notable Member

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    #6
    I would try SEO for sites which would give me revenue after some months

    But I would PPC for sites which are revenue generators from the day one (Affiliate programs)
     
    Freewebspace, Jun 15, 2008 IP
  7. neeta

    neeta Banned

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    #7
    SEO is for long time and future planning and it is free from search engines. It takes time getting higher ranking but is most valuable and most searches. Adwards or PPC depend on bid. It is on money. If a site is not validate W3C after that it will get higher ranking if you pay for that. It is a advertisement but SEO is a ethical optimization and practice for higher ranking in search engines in organic listings.

    Source : Search Engine Optimisation, SEO - On Page, Off Page and Online Marketing
     
    neeta, Jun 15, 2008 IP
  8. zexy

    zexy Guest

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    #8
    Too bad getting a decent SERP in a highly competitive niche is not exactly free though :)
     
    zexy, Jun 15, 2008 IP
  9. gunakesh

    gunakesh Well-Known Member

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    #9
    Both.....For short time Result ppc..and for long time SEO
     
    gunakesh, Jun 15, 2008 IP
  10. xiaoniao

    xiaoniao Peon

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    #10
    i'd try both ~!
     
    xiaoniao, Jun 16, 2008 IP
  11. datafiedbpo

    datafiedbpo Banned

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    #11
    Its depend upon your services, if you have product based website than adword is good and if you have services then seo is good
     
    datafiedbpo, Jun 16, 2008 IP
  12. bilgi

    bilgi Well-Known Member

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    #12
    For long time period SEO is better
    You may have unlimited visitors if you do good SEO
    but
    Adwords brings only as much as your money
     
    bilgi, Jun 16, 2008 IP
  13. arunsiam

    arunsiam Peon

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    #13
    I do both but more on SEO since it is cheaper but takes more time.
     
    arunsiam, Jun 16, 2008 IP
  14. basketmen

    basketmen Well-Known Member

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    #14
    seo of course

    i am expert enough on it
     
    basketmen, Jun 16, 2008 IP
  15. seoworld1234

    seoworld1234 Peon

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    #15
    seo is for long term result
    if you are looking for short term result, then ppc
     
    seoworld1234, Jun 17, 2008 IP
  16. Whitey

    Whitey Active Member

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    #16
    For a long term benifit SEO, for traffic almost instantly PPC. :)
     
    Whitey, Jun 17, 2008 IP
  17. ainmohd

    ainmohd Peon

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    #17
    I prefer seo for long-terms benefits.
     
    ainmohd, Jun 17, 2008 IP
  18. pneulameiro

    pneulameiro Peon

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    #18
    seo without doubt. Seo and social bookmarketing are cheaper than ppc.
     
    pneulameiro, Jun 17, 2008 IP
  19. Hersheys

    Hersheys Peon

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    #19
    If your site is new better to have adwords first to get instant targeted traffic while still working SEO in your site. But once you already have ranking in SE you can now turn of your adwords campaign.
     
    Hersheys, Jun 17, 2008 IP
  20. ancientpeaks

    ancientpeaks Peon

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    #20
    for short time ppc and for long time seo
     
    ancientpeaks, Jun 18, 2008 IP