Several studies from many different sources indicate that search engine optimization reaches more people on a daily basis than social media and pay per click advertising combined. As of 2012 Internet users conducted 1,873,910,000,000 searches on Google alone. That averages out to 5,134,000,000 searches per day. This is a staggering number and there was a study done by Forrester, which discovered that 54% of people found websites through organic search results otherwise known as results done through SEO. The second most preferred discovery method was social media at 32%. Pay Per Click or PPC came in at only 18% as a discovery tool for websites. The confusing part of this equation is that paid search spending is still on the rise.
PPC vs. SEO
Why do so many companies end up spending more money on PPC, just to see a lower number of people clicking on ads? Forrester believes this is due to a mindset of many companies prioritizing sales over other goals. The fact is that PPC will cost a company more money. Once you stop spending money on PPC your website will once again be lost in the mix of all of your competitors.
SEO Is An Investment
PPC advertising is like renting an apartment, while SEO is like investing in a piece of real estate. Yes, search engine optimization will take longer to see results, however the hard work will result in natural search results, which is how the majority of people find websites. Too many companies think short term and basically waste their marketing budget on Pay Per Click advertisements.
It is important to understand that a page 1 result will garner 92 percent of all traffic from the average search, with traffic dropping off by 95 percent for Page 2. The higher on page 1 your company is, the more clicks you will see going to your website. Would you rather be found on the first page of Google everyday for years to come or run the risk of losing all of your time and money from having to lower your PPC budget?
Contact one of our Internet marketing experts at Leap Clixx to discuss your company’s options and start seeing more traffic to your business.
*The most current data on Internet searches is from 06.18.2013 and comes from Google Official History and Comscore.*
