At Expect More, our long-term clients are familiar with our previous stance on Google AdWords, believing that SEO was a better investment – particularly for long-term benefits
Indeed, the data overwhelmingly supports this perspective; visitors who discover a website organically or through social media insights tend to be warmer leads. According to Search Engine Land, 70 to 80% of search engine users focus solely on organic results, disregarding paid ads. Moreover, there are four compelling advantages to a well-executed SEO campaign:
Trust:
Securing a top position in organic rankings enhances your business’s perceived credibility among the audience. Many users skip ads, assigning greater trust to organic results, thus granting your business a crucial stamp of approval.
Cost per Click:
Organic traffic to your website, once established, comes at no additional cost. While developing and managing an SEO campaign requires time and budget, there is no cost per click associated with organic traffic.
Long-term Sustainability:
Unlike pay-per-click, traffic generated through SEO is sustainable over time. Even if budgets are reduced, the investment in SEO continues to yield results.
Competitive Advantage:
Achieving high rankings in organic results makes it challenging for competitors to displace your position. Even if they resort to pay-per-click advertising, your business retains greater credibility and trust, as supported by statistical data.
The Case for AdWords
However, when Google revamped its page layout, relocating paid ads to the top four positions, organic listings were effectively pushed below the fold on average laptop screens.
Try conducting a search on Google for a popular keyword like “website design agency Basingstoke,” and you’ll notice that the first four listings are ads, dominating the page. Organic listings appear further down the page, requiring users to scroll past the ads to access them.
Given that paid positions now dominate page one of Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs), we’ve had to reassess our search engine marketing strategies. While SEO rankings enjoy greater trust, it’s undeniable that click-through rates diminish for sites lower in the rankings.
For over a year now, we’ve actively managed AdWords campaigns for both Expect More and our clients. Our findings have been enlightening; targeted paid campaigns yield high click-through rates and impressive returns on investment. Conversely, poorly structured “blanket” campaigns can squander significant sums in pursuit of clicks without delivering substantial results, as evidenced by a recent consultation with a prospect spending £6k per month.