By Kelly Grainger, CreoLogic Design Inc.
“I need more traffic to my website. Should I pay for advertising? Or should I improve my SEO?”
The answer? It depends.
The cost-per-click (CPC) for pay-per-click (PPC)
You could pay for traffic by signing up with one of the pay-per-click (PPC) providers such as Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising. Doing so enables you to display ads for your company in the sponsored results section of each search engine’s results page.
But remember, you pay a fee every time a viewer clicks on the ad and reaches your website. And the more competitive the keyword, the more you pay. For example, using the keyword “auto insurance” in the Edmonton area could get you 90-170 clicks per month at the cost of CA$760 or $25 per day. If you’re looking for more than that, 160-280 clicks a month will cost you CA$1,277 per month or CA$42 per day.
Whether this converts to sales depends on how searchers view sponsored results, and whether your competitors are using the same keywords to attract the same customers. You need to carefully consider the size of your advertising budget allocated to your website together with the cost-per-click for the keywords that attract traffic.
The cost of SEO
The alternative is to build traffic for free by increasing your ranking organically in the natural search results by carefully choosing keywords that allow you to differentiate yourself from the competition. You’ll need to follow SEO best practices—and probably get help from a local SEO expert—to increase your ranking and visibility.
It may take time to get to where you want to be, but, in the long run, reaching the free, targeted traffic you’re looking for will be worth the time and investment. The best way to start is to understand how your current website is working by finding out how your keywords are working compared to the competition. Visit https://creologic.ca/services/seo-search-engine-optimization/, enter your and your competitor’s URL, and find out your SEO score for your primary keywords.
The bigger picture
Unfortunately, keywords are just one thing you have to consider. Google uses over 200 metrics to rank your site! In my next blog, I’ll outline what some of these are and the best way to understand and use them to your advantage.
In the meantime, don’t hesitate to contact me about your questions or concerns on PPC or SEO. Visit http://creologic.ca/ or email me at info@creologic.ca.
About the author
Kelly Grainger is the Founder and President of CreoLogic Design Inc., a leading website and SEO company based in Edmonton, Canada. Leveraging 20-years’ experience, Kelly’s focus is on helping local companies take advantage of digital transformation to enhance services and create competitive differentiation.
