Content Marketing Vs PPC – Which One’s Best for Your Business

A successful marketing campaign is the one that makes you earn more than what you spend. So can content marketing provide better ROI or PPC? This is a question every online business owner wants an answer to.

PPC is highly effective in getting you to the top SERPs and putting your business in front of the right people at the right time. But is this investment worth it? Let’s find out that by taking a deeper look into both types of marketing:

Content Marketing

It’s the most affordable solution for improving the visibility of your website. And it works for every type of business whether you are an eCommerce store or a marketing staffing agency.

It certainly takes time to show results. It is great at bringing high-quality leads if you have the time and patience. Take a look at ways content marketing can help your business:

A Healthy ROI

Content marketing certainly demands commitment because results don’t kick in overnight. You will have to wait for several months to notice real results. However, when ROI comes, it is better than ever.

A blog with an evergreen topic can bring 38% of Internet traffic. Plus, the traffic keeps on coming even after months and months of publishing a blog post. The monument takes some time to build but once it does, the results are pleasing.

Better Leads

Once the content starts generating leads, it brings high-quality conversion. Many studies indicate organic search traffic generates the highest conversion. After organic search comes email marketing and then comes PPC. 

Cost-Effective

If you don’t have a big budget to dedicate to PPC, then content marketing is here to save the day. You may have to hire an experienced copywriter and might even have to pay some heavy bucks. Don’t worry, it’s a one-time investment.

Once the content is published and your website or landing page has ranked, you simply have to wait for leads to roll on. Then, everything will be set on autopilot. 

Pay Per Click Marketing

When you desire immediate visibility, PPC marketing is the perfect fit. Usually, brands use PPC ads to drive traffic to their website in the early stage of development. It is very effective in giving your brand exposure and earn some revenue. Here are some benefits to this approach: 

Brings You to the Top

There is no better way of bringing your website to the top search results instantly than this. If the page is relevant and your bid is high, Google will put your website on the top of its page. This is a great opportunity to get visibility. 

You will have to pay a price against it but the traffic generated by being on the top of the page is most likely to make up for the money spent.

It’s Affordable for Some Industries

The amount of money you pay per click-through PPC ads varies between industries. The legal industry, for instance, has competitive keywords, and hence they are expensive. Keywords in education, employment, and eCommerce are much affordable. 

On average it costs $2.32 per click. If the keywords in your industry are cheaper, you might as well be better off employing PPC advertising to rank on the first page of Google than content marketing.  

Which One to Choose – Content or PPC?

Both marketing strategies have their own benefits but each one comes with some drawbacks. Content marketing entails content creation and building trust with the audience. It may be an affordable form of marketing but it takes a lot of time to generate results; probably a few months to a year. It, however, comes back in the form of increased profits.

PPC advertising is best to get you a prime spot in the top pages of search engines. As soon as your campaign is live, it will bring you traffic to your website. However, you must pay a price each time a visitor clicks your link. Another downside is that once the campaign ends, so does the traffic.

The Takeaway

Marketing experts recommend a hybrid of content marketing and PPC to maximize return on investment. There is no cookie-cutter fit solution for any business. Competition is getting tougher and tougher each day. 

Your website may get clicks with a great PPC campaign. If the landing page doesn’t have an optimized web copy, the right CTA, and information, the visitor will not convert. Likewise, having great content doesn’t guarantee Google or other search engines will notice your website. You will have to rely on PPC to get noticed.

I have created a hybrid approach to bring ROI to my IT staffing website. I have hired a team of copywriters to craft amazing web copy and set a small budget to run PPC ads each month. It’s bringing ample traffic each month which is converting as well.

Try the same approach for your business!