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We are often asked which is better, Search Engine Optimisation or PPC. In our opinion, the best approach is to combine "natural listings" (i.e. Search Engine Optimization) and pay-per-click listings. This is because some visitors prefer to use one and some the other. By combining the two, it ensures the maximum capture of potential visitors to the site.
During the initial period of site promotion, pay-per-click carries an advantage because good listings can be achieved in 3-6 working days. Natural listings take longer to achieve, as the site needs to first be automatically indexed by the search engines. This process can take from 4 weeks to 18 months, but once achieved and maintained will mean that the site is not only found for certain phrases (as with pay-per-click) but also for variations of other search phrases that may bring new clients from unexpected search phrases. It may be that once your SEO takes hold, you can reduce or even stop your PPC campaign.
Pay-Per-Click also has one other advantage to a new site; that is, to be able to test the effectiveness of a site almost instantly. Because natural listings take much longer to achieve you may not get a feel for how well your site will perform with real visitors for some while. PPC gets around this by delivering well-targeted visitors to your website in a very short space of time – you’ll then know pretty soon afterwards how well your site works, how effective your product sales pitch is, and if you need to adjust anything to improve performance.
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