Is there any rule that paid channel advertising is a better investment than content marketing? I don’t think so.
Both content marketing and paid advertising can be used to generate leads, regardless of what type of marketing you do. Both of these methods can be effective.
Content marketing and advertising are two of the most popular methods that B2B marketers use to gain visibility for their brand and generate leads.
To get the most out of your content marketing, generate the best leads, and increase your revenue, make sure your content is useful and relevant.
It is essential to comprehend how every one of these content marketing strategies works and what sort of content marketing return on investment you can expect. Of course, I can’t give you definite numbers since diverse small businesses will accomplish fluctuating outcomes.
When content strategy first started, you didn’t need much content to engage people because there wasn’t much good content around and there weren’t many social media channels to compete with. However, today there is a lot more competition and Google has raised the standards with its Panda updates.
Since digital marketing agencies, marketing teams, and those in the business of blog content understand that creating more in-depth articles and infographics brings them the best return on their investment, they have been producing more of this type of content.
Paid advertising and content marketing can work together to generate leads. It explains that a good content marketing strategy can help draw attention to paid advertising, and vice versa. Ultimately, both paid advertising and content marketing are important for generating leads.
ROI: Content Marketing Vs. Paid Advertising
If you want to focus your content strategy on one channel, you’ll need to decide whether to promote your content for free, or place paid ads.
Content Distribution
Essentially, Adam Robinson was correct when he said that content is king but distribution is what really matters.
If you want to be successful in content marketing, you need to be a leader, not a follower, according to Forbes. This means being someone who understands dynamic distribution.
Leaders who connect with social media channel influencers usually see more success than those who don’t. These influencers can help distribute the leader’s content to a larger audience, resulting in more views and engagement.
A study found that content marketing leaders had a year-over-year increase in unique visitors that was 7.8 times higher than for followers (19.7% vs. 2.5%).
Before you can share content on social media, you need to make sure it is appealing to your target audience.
Make sure to choose your keywords carefully and place them prominently in your content, especially blog posts, without appearing spammy to Google. This will show that your content is relevant to what you’re trying to rank for.
Creating high-quality content and giving it away for free is the best way to connect with and nurture a loyal audience.
Even though you may have put money into every part of creating your content (such as research, data mining, split tests, graphics, and writing), you now want to promote it using free methods to get closer to your lead generation goals.
Essentially, I pour a lot of money into my business up front, but I don’t expect to see any of that back immediately. A lot of other business owners didn’t understand this at first, but my thinking is that I will eventually make more money if I don’t worry about the initial investment. My focus is on long-term profit, rather than short-term gains.
It’s possible to earn ten times your initial investment from creating high-quality guides. But at first, you might only promote them on free social media channels, so it is not always easy.
I and my marketing team spend a lot of time on social media. Some people do this and also write 1 to 3 guest blog content posts per week. This allows me to drive additional traffic to my blog.
If you spend two hours a day on social media and another two hours pitching bloggers, that’s four hours total.
And if you were to drive 1000 targeted readers from social media channels, it might only take 14 hours
This investment of time will be worth $1120, assuming each hour is worth $80.
In addition to social networks, the free methods for distributing great content are:
In-House Blogging
Some marketers have been successful in content marketing by growing their blog readership to high numbers over the years.
When a company publishes new blog content, thousands of readers who frequent the blog will read it. Consistent blogging will help generate 88% and 67% more leads respectively for B2B marketers and B2C companies, and will give a content marketing ROI.
Guest Blogging
Guest blogging is a great way to generate leads and traffic to your website, as well as increase your social media following.
Earned Media
This refers to free publicity that is earned by promoting content, rather than traditional advertising.
This means that if you are helpful and consistent, your latest content will be exposed to new audiences and this will improve lead generation. If you have paid for media, you will get free publicity from blog content mentions, social network sharing, and influencer relationships.
Email List
Email marketing is my number one method for distributing content for free.
Blog Commenting
One way to promote your blog is by writing helpful comments on other industry blogs. You can also engage with your readers by replying to their comments promptly. Although this can be time-consuming, it will help your content marketing strategy.
Leaving helpful comments on other websites can generate traffic for you, as well as leads that you can turn into customers. This was demonstrated in 2014, when $25,000 was apparently generated from 249 comments by one blogger. If you have a small business, it may be difficult to find time to do this, but it should be included in the content marketing budget for those with marketing teams.
What Gets You the Better ROI?
The classic story of the hare and the tortoise teaches us that it’s better to move slowly and steadily than to move quickly and erratically. This adage can also be applied to the world of digital marketing, where things move quickly and it can be easy to make mistakes. In the debate between SEO and PPC, the tortoise (SEO) is the better marketing channel because it is more effective in the long run.
Many website owners believe that search engines do not guarantee an increase in leads or conversions. However, there are some statistics that show how search engines can help generate more leads, sales, and revenue.
- 66% of online experiences/surveys begin with search engines [BrightEdge]
- 61% of B2B marketers stated that organic traffic generates more leads than other marketing initiatives [HubSpot]
- The #1 website listed in Google search has an average Click-Through-Rate (CTR) of 32% [HubSpot]
- 85% of visitors click on organic search results and ignore paid banner ads [UserGuiding]
This post will explore the benefits and drawbacks of SEO versus Paid Marketing so you can choose the best marketing channel to increase your ROI.
What is SEO?
SEO is a set of best practices that are designed to improve a company’s ranking in organic search results from Google, Bing, and other search engines.
There are many methods of improving your website’s ranking in search results, such as keyword research, on-page optimization, technical optimization, and link building. By improving your ranking, you can earn more traffic, leads, and sales.
What is PPC?
PPC, or pay-per-click advertising, is a more direct way to improve your search visibility by paying for “sponsored links.” This includes everything from paid shopping lists to banner ads. If you like concrete data on your marketing strategies, PPC can become your favorite choice. It works on a pay-per-click model, which means you will be charged for every click on your ad.
Is SEO Better Than Paid Marketing?
Now that we have discussed the basics, lets go into more depth.
SEO and paid marketing are both most effective when used together. They are both powerful marketing tools for any business trying to increase website traffic. While both are useful, it is important to understand how these tactics work and which would be most beneficial for your needs. The main objective for both is to connect your business with its target audience, but they each do this in different ways.
- Tap into search engines to grow your business
- Increase brand awareness and credibility
- Gain new customers
There are many ways that SEO and PPC can complement each other to create a holistic search strategy. Here are some ways in which they can work together to improve results and boost your search engine marketing efforts:
Placement on SERP
Organic content takes up more space on a results page than paid ads, with ten snippet spots compared to paid ads’ often one to three. Features like FAQ schema, Google maps pack, Knowledge graph, and rich snippets help brands to appear in additional areas of a results page.
Cost of Placement
SEO does not require any payment for placement in organic search results, making it a very affordable option in the long run in comparison to paid search.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
The two most important things to consider when measuring the success of digital marketing campaigns are click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate (CVR). A study by Backlinko found that, on average, organic search results have a CTR of 31.7%, while paid ads have a CTR of 5%.
Capitalize on Keywords
You can also use the “suggested bid” to get an estimate of how much you could spend on each keyword. You can improve the quality of your organic content by using the “paid keywords” in headings, title tags, meta descriptions, and blog content that you want to amplify.
Audience Targeting
PPC allows you to specifically target an audience in a particular geographic location, with ads that are suited to their demographics and interests. By using PPC ads, you can show different ads to different users in different locations.
SEO can improve your business in many ways, such as increasing brand awareness and credibility. However, your website’s position in the SERPs may fluctuate over time. If you want your site to maintain a high ranking, you should use both SEO and PPC together.
Should I Invest in SEO or PPC?
What are your business goals? Do you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or sell products/services? Who is your target audience? What is your budget? What are your business goals? If you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or sell products/services, you should invest in SEO. If you have a limited budget, you may want to consider PPC. Who is your target audience? If you’re trying to reach a specific group of people, PPC may be a better option than SEO.
- What is your budget?
- Are you looking for instant results?
- Are you looking for a way to validate your product?
- How are your competitors ranking in organic search?
- What is your website’s domain authority(DA)?
There are some key instances where one method may be more advantageous over the other. Below is a quick breakdown of SEO Vs Paid Marketing.
If you run a start-up or you’re a small business owner and you’re trying to save on your advertising budget, know that although SEO is a long-term strategy, it is a worthier investment of your time. You will begin to see a constant flow of traffic once you start ranking.
SEO would be a good option for you if:
- Your business can dedicate time
- You wish to gain leads through a web search
- You have a strong focus on the target audience
- You have enough budget to meet SEO goals
If you want your eCommerce website to compete with giants like Amazon or eBay, you will need to invest in PPC advertising. This will help you reach a wider audience and increase brand awareness.
PPC would be a good fit for you if:
- You have a high budget
- You have a time-sensitive offer
- You are launching a new product
- You don’t have time to optimize the website
In a nutshell, SEO improves your website ranking and online presence, while PPC focuses on generating leads in a shorter amount of time.