There’s a saying in the world of SEO that if you aren’t on the first page of Google, you might as well not exist, and it’s sadly true. According to Hubspot, 75% of users will never click past the first page of Google.
Unfortunately, getting that coveted SERP (search engine result page) is easier said than done.
Getting your content to show up on the first page without Google paying for it is known as organic search, but it can take months, even years of hard work and consistent strategy to get your content there, which is why so many companies opt to pay for it. Google has also been displaying more ads per page for certain keywords, making it even harder to get there organically.
On the other hand, there are many people who don’t trust ads, so they skip right over them to the links that have earned their spot on Google’s first page. That leaves many small business owners wondering, “Should I pay for Google ads or try to show up organically?” We have some tips for you.
Table of Contents
- Organic Search Pros
- Organic Search Cons
- Paid Search
- Paid Search Pros
- And, Not Or
- The Tools You’ll Need to Get the Most out of Your Ad Campaigns and Organic Search Efforts
Organic Search Pros
There are pros and cons to both organic search and paid search. Let’s start with the benefits of using organic search.
Longevity
Ads only show up as long as you pay for them. Once you stop paying Google, your prime real estate disappears and it will be much harder for people to find you, unless you’ve managed to get to that spot organically.
By contrast, if you manage to get your content to organically show up on Google’s first page for targeted keywords, you’re much more likely to stay there for months, even years to come (especially with continued effort to consistently create relevant content on the topic and related topics). The time, effort, and money that goes into ranking organically is substantial, but it can end up paying off several times over in the long run.
Authority and Credibility
While the difference between Google ads and organic search results is small (consisting of only the word “Ad” in small, green letters beneath the title of the link), many people do look for it and skip over them to get to the content that got there organically. That’s because people tend to trust content that earned its way to the first page of Google more than they trust content they know someone paid to have show up there.
For this reason, organic search often has a higher click-through rate (CTR) than paid content, as well as a higher conversion rate, especially when it comes to big spenders.
Benefits Compound
Getting your content to show up on the first page of Google requires a lot of brand authority. At the same time, showing up on the first page of Google conveys a lot of brand authority, which in turn boosts your rankings, which is how the benefits of organic search results build on each other.
Organic Search Cons
Now that we’ve covered the advantages to organic search, let’s talk about the downsides.
Leads from the Top of the Funnel
In general, most of the people who find your site via organic search tend to be higher up in the marketing funnel, meaning they’re not ready to buy just yet. They’re either looking for more information on a topic and/or they’re looking for tips on how to do something themselves.
That said, getting those people at the top of the funnel and creating content that leads them all the way to the buying stage takes a lot of work, but it can pay off in a big way, especially if we’re talking about subscriptions, repeat clients, and/or referral partners.
Even if you don’t convert those leads right away, there’s a lot to be said for brand visibility and authority, and getting your content to show up organically in searches is a great way to gain both of those things.
Greater Investment
While many people will tell you that ranking organically is free, we could not disagree more. At the very least you have to invest your own time and effort into creating content and your time is not free.
And if you do opt to handle your content strategy yourself, you’re less likely to get the results you need unless you’re a professional SEO strategist. Most of the time, you’re better off hiring a content strategist who knows about SEO so they can create great content that will both help you show up in relevant searches and lead prospects through the buyer journey. Hire someone who knows what they’re doing and let them do what they do best so you can focus on what you do best.
Paid Search
Paid search is when you use Google Ads to pay to show up on the first page of Google for targeted keywords. Paid search is also known as PPC (pay per click) because you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, at which point it’s up to your content to convert that lead into a customer. The amount you pay per click depends on who else is bidding on those keywords, how much they’re paying, and whether you want to show up at the top of Google’s first page or the bottom, with the top being more expensive.
Paid Search Pros
As with most things, there are pros and cons to using paid search to “skip the line” in search results. Let’s start with the pros.
Faster Results
Getting your content to organically show up in relevant searches can take months, or even years. But once you start paying for Google Ads, you can start showing up in relevant searches tomorrow.
Greater Visibility (Sometimes)
Google places ads at the very top of the page, before any of the organic search results, which means paying for that top spot can get you in front of more people and get clicks from those who don’t skip over the ads to get to the organic search results.
That said, Google also often puts ads at the bottom of their first page after the organic search results, which means users will have to scroll through all the other ads and the organic search results before they find you. The benefit to that is that you’re still on the first page of Google and you’re paying less than the companies that paid to show up at the top of the page.
A/B Testing
One of the biggest advantages to ad campaigns is that you get to do some A/B testing to see which strategies work best. Want to see which keywords get the highest CTR? Run two campaigns simultaneously, one with each keyword, and the one that gets the most clicks is the one on which you should focus your efforts.
Want to see which call to action (CTA) converts the most leads? Run two campaigns simultaneously, each with a different CTA at the end of your content, and see which one converts more leads.
Want to see what kinds of headlines get the highest CTR?
You get the idea.
You can do all this with your organic content, too, but it takes much longer to get enough data so you can compare the results.
More Targeted Leads
The content you want to organically show up in searches should also be targeted to a specific audience via research and keywords, but ads let you target further by making sure they only get displayed to people of certain demographics, in certain geographic locations, etc. in addition to targeting for keywords. This level of personalization means you can get your content in front of people who are more likely to click on your link and more likely to make a purchase once they get to your website.
More Buyer Intent
Ads are generally targeted to people who are further along in the buyer journey, which means they’re either ready to buy, or they’re close to being ready to buy and they’re just doing their research before making a final decision. This makes it much easier to convert leads that click on your ads.
Paid Search Cons
Now that we’ve talked about the benefits of paying to show up in certain searches, let’s talk about some of the drawbacks.
Cost
Obviously, the biggest drawback to paying to show up in searches is the up-front costs. You don’t have to pay Google until someone clicks on your ad, but if you’re getting clicks without conversions, then you aren’t getting a return on your investment, in which case it’s time to either stop paying for the ad and do some restrategizing, or conduct some A/B testing to see if there’s something else you could do that would make the ad more effective.
What’s more is you only have that enviable position as long as you pay for it. Stop paying, and your content disappears from that coveted first page, unless you’ve managed to get it to show up in the organic search results.
And, Not Or
While there are pros and cons to both, paid search and organic search results work better together, especially since some people are more likely to click on an organic link if they saw an ad for the same website at the top of the page.
Also keep in mind that Google’s top goal is always to get relevant content in front of its audience, and that includes ads. Just because you pay for the top spot on Google doesn’t mean you’ll get there if your content is low quality and/or it doesn’t answer your target audience’s questions.
The Tools You’ll Need to Get the Most Out of Your Ad Campaigns and Organic Search Efforts
Now that we’ve covered the pros and cons of both organic search and paid search, and why they’re better together, let’s go over some of the tools you’ll need in order to get the most out of your content marketing efforts:
Google Ads
Obviously, you can’t run a Google Ads campaign without using Google Ads, so that’s the first thing you’ll need if you decide to start running ads.
Keyword Analysis Tool
You’ll need to use at least one trustworthy keyword analysis tool in order to make sure you’re targeting keywords that can have the biggest impact on your online visibility. Ubersuggest is a free option that has gotten quite good over the past few years, but there are also options, such as SEMrush, that require a subscription in order to use all the features. Ideally, you should use at least two keyword tools so you can compare and contrast to make sure you’re getting the most accurate results.
My favorite SEO tool is Serpstat. It’s the one I use for all my keyword research, SEO audits, backlink analyses, etc.
Topic Generators
Ahrefs is a great tool for identifying gaps in content in your industry so you can be sure to direct your time and resources towards topics that are more likely to get your content to show up in searches.
We like to use a combination of keyword research and Quora to come up with our content topics. Quora is a great resource for finding out what questions people are asking about your industry that aren’t getting answered by your competitors. Just be sure to double check any data you get from Quora with your keyword research tools to make sure those topics don’t already have so much content that it will be impossible for anyone to find your website.
Headline Analyzer
Few things are more important than the headline. It determines whether someone will click and visit your site or keep scrolling. We always use CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer to make sure our headlines have all the ingredients necessary to make people want to click.
The Emotional Value Marketing Headline Analyzer by the Advanced Marketing Institute is another great tool that will help you make sure your headline packs an emotional punch that’s strong enough to convince people click.
Google Analytics
All the work you put into creating content and/or ad campaigns is just the first step. Once that content has been published and/or the ad campaign has been launched, you need to analyze your results. What’s getting the most traffic? Where is that traffic coming from? How much time are they spending on your site? Are they clicking links to other pages on your website, or going back to Google/social media? How many visitors are becoming buyers? You (or someone on your team) needs to be constantly analyzing all this data so you know what works, what doesn’t, and what you need to adjust.
Conclusion
Whether you’re paying for ad space, getting your content to rank organically, or both, you’re going to need to come up with a strategy, analyze your results, and adjust your strategy as necessary.
Whether you need help getting your content to show up organically in searches or advice for an ad campaign, we can help. Check out our content strategy services for things like keyword research and content calendars, or our SEO strategy services for advice on what you could tweak on your website to help boost its organic rankings.
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