What is Online Marketing Part II

In my last post, I talked briefly about what online marketing is, and introduced some ideas on how you might get started. Today, I'll be getting into a little more detail about the differences between Paid Per Click (PPC) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

When to choose PPC...

If you are selling a product or service, or looking to generate leads for a particular offer your company is running, PPC is the best approach to start with. With PPC:

• You get immediate results
• Manage focused campaigns for specific products or services
• Obtain laser-targeted feedback from your customers, enabling you to customize and trim your sales funnel
• Control costs by setting daily budget limits
• Avoid wasting money on promotional efforts that bear no fruit

Another effective use of PPC is for when you are researching a new product or service. If you've ever asked yourself the question "will people actually buy this?", a PPC campaign can give you real feedback and statistics from potential customers, very quickly and cost effectively. According to a study conducted by the NYTimes, paid links are 17% more likely to result in a purchase, compared to "organic links".

When to choose SEO...

Supposing you have an established retail operation, and you are looking to expand that into the online world. SEO can offer you an effective means of building up your brand awareness and trust. It will enable you to create a community of customers, and connect with them. With SEO:

• Results take time to get and are unpredictable
• Requires constant measurement and fresh content
• Relies heavily on the trust factor, and how good your content is
• Costs are spread out over time; it's a long term investment

SEO promotes "information sharing". It can be a very effective sales driver in the long term, if your efforts result in top rankings.