Search Engine Traffic vs. Paid Traffic

Webmasters constantly argue over which is better – search engine traffic or paid traffic (pay per click campaigns). Their argument usually isn’t a matter of which costs more, but both of these can be expensive. And since cost vs. profit is always the bottom line for business owners, we’ll address it first in this article.

Search Engine Traffic Cost Some people rush into key word campaigns thinking that the natural search engine traffic is cheaper than running paid traffic campaigns. This usually isn’t the case. Search engine traffic can get VERY expensive, if you’re trying to keep up with the latest SEO trends. The search engines are under constant revision, and it takes time to stay ahead of them. For most people, time is money. So you’re either constantly neglecting something else, or you’re paying a webmasters for their time.

Either way, search engine traffic definitely isn’t free. Even if you have the time to waste, you also need a few other things to really bring in the search engine traffic. You need a basic knowledge of HTML and how to use it. You also need content. If you can’t write, you have to pay someone else to do it for you. Finally, you need web space and bandwidth.

You can pay for traffic to go to a single page, but to get search engine traffic, you’ll need lots of pages and lots of links, all funneling to your main sales page. Search Engine Traffic Quality We’re not just discussing the cost of search engine traffic, but also the conversion rate.

‘Free’ search engine traffic isn’t always the best way to get people to buy. Pay per click advertising allows you to target specific geographical areas and languages. You don’t always decide where search engine traffic comes from. It could come from your own city or from halfway around the world. Search engines also have a waiting period before changes go into effect. And it’s different for each search engine.

So if you decide that one key-phrase isn’t drawing the right traffic, and decide to work on another one, Google might not list the changes for months. But with paid traffic, your changes take place immediately. No waiting period to try a new campaign. No reason to change all the content on your site because the traffic isn’t converting.

Search Engine Traffic Time and Control

All of this leads to control. You’ll never have as much control with search engine traffic as paid traffic. Search engines decide who they will list and where…and they certainly don’t publish the formula they use to decide who’s ahead of who. Even if you’re making educated guesses, they’re still guesses. Pay per click campaigns offer control over the keywords and phrases, placement, and cost per day. They also track your conversions so you know which key phrases are working, and which ones aren’t.

So Which is Better?

This largely depends on the website you’re promoting. How much competition is there, how long do you plan to promote the website, and how much control do you need? Pay per click campaigns are great for short term promotions and the beginning of long term promotions. But you should try to gain search engine traffic as well. Divide your efforts according to your needs. Just don’t make the automatic assumption that search engine traffic is cheaper.