SEO Articles...helpful information by leading search engine optimization professionals!

SEO HAS HAD ITS DAY… IT’S PPC’S TIME NOW. Sunday, November 20, 2005

By Chris Genge

Before you can predict the future, it’s good to look at the past and present. In the world of Search Engine Marketing (SEM), pay per click (PPC) is the relative newcomer and search engine optimization (SEO) is the seasoned pro… SEO predates PPC by almost five-years.

SEO was the preferred method of search marketing up until roughly two-years ago. That’s when PPC exploded onto the scene, and in that short a span of time it has overtaken SEO as the preeminent leader in SEM.

When looking at the numbers and dollars involved in each segment and weighing their respective pros and cons, it becomes very clear that PPC is the product of choice that is going to dominant SEM for the next few years.

Consider the following:

• PPC generates more profits and brings in more money than SEO.
• A December 2004, report released by SEMPO indicated that 82% of money spent on SEM went to PPC, while SEO only garnished 12% of the ad dollars.
• Search engine advertising increased by 50% in 2004; the primary beneficiary was PPC.
• Ad dollar spending predictions for as far out as 2009 indicate that PPC is going to keep getting more of the spending pie.
• PPC is the option of choice for direct marketing professionals and the corporate world because it meets their business requirements better than SEO.

Does that mean SEO is dead. No. It will survive, but it won’t garnish the attention that PPC is receiving and so will continue to play second fiddle to its more attractive sibling. Plus, there is still a need for SEO… the search engines use free/ organic listings as a ‘loss-leader’ to attract new users (just like stores use ‘free/ discounted’ items to attract people). Other benefits that ensure its survival include: SEO rankings get more click-throughs than PPC, users trust SEO rankings more, and SEO can provide longer lasting results for limited budgets.

PPC is growing at such a pace that it’s facilitating in the creation of new companies in areas that didn’t exist before, ex. click fraud specialty shops. PPC is where the action is and it’s the fastest growing segment of the Internet economy already generating revenues in the billions of dollars. It’s the driving force behind most of the current excitement in the SEM industry… it’s sexy… sexy sells.

In the short 2-years since it exploded on the radar screens of the corporate world, PPC has quickly and unquestionably become the advertiser’s medium of choice in the SEM landscape. From our perspective, PPC and SEO will both continue to prosper in the coming years but almost all of the variables are clearly tilted in favor of PPC retaining it’s leadership role.

Chris Genge, President, 1^st On The List Promotion Inc., Abbotsford, BC.