SEO > Paid Ads

Google something.

Anything.

“Ugly Christmas sweater,” “best books for middle schoolers,” or “how to get green crayon out of white rug” will do.

There’s a good chance that the first few results on the top of the page were “sponsored,” but your eyes glazed over them until you found the first actual non-paid (“organic”) search result.

That organic search result didn’t get there by buying its way to the top as the sponsored results did. It got there by proving to Google that it is exactly what the searcher is looking for. And SEO plays a big part in that.

What About Ads?

Paying for advertising can seem like a good way to get exposure. You are placing yourself directly in front of the eyes of the demographic you are after. Isn’t that what you want to happen?

There are a few things wrong with relying on ads. Here are some of them:

Short-Lived Success

Ads disappear after you stop paying. When you’ve finished your advertisement stint, that’s the end of it. You don’t walk away with any additional value to your brand and your site. You can continue to artificially inflate your views by paying for more ads, but that is an expensive route to rely on.

It’s similar to leasing a car. When the lease is up, so is your time with the car. If you invest in SEO, however, that’s like buying the car. It’s yours to keep even after the payments have stopped.

Banner Blindness

As consumers, we are bombarded with ads almost constantly. You can hardly scroll anywhere on your phone without exposure to an advertisement.

Because of the constant stream of ads thrown our way, we become numb to them. We zone out once we realize something is an advertisement. If your only way to reach your audience is through ads, they might not actually be seeing them.

The Right Audience

Consumers enjoy privacy. Increased privacy is great for them but not so great for companies looking to advertise to them. With increased privacy, it is harder for companies to ensure they are reaching the target demographic.

Why is SEO Different?

Unlike the shaky and temporary foundation of paid advertisements, SEO lays down solid groundwork for your site to continue growing.

Investing in a search engine optimization company can be a better way to spend your money than ads. But SEO will only work if you do it right. Here are some tips to make your SEO efforts worthwhile.

Feed the Algorithm

Don’t look at algorithms as something to fight against. They are there to serve the searcher. Instead of thinking of them as your enemy, think of them as your maps.

The algorithm is trying to get the searchers the best results. So your best chance of ranking #1 is to become the best result. Here are some ways to prove to search engines that your site has value:

• Strategically use keywords. Search engines caught on to people trying to cut corners and fill their sites with just keywords. Gone are the keyword-stuffing days. Now, you need to nestle the keywords within the topics your audience is reading. If you can find out what keywords your audience is already searching online with, that would be even better.
• Educate your audience. When you provide valuable information that your target audience is already looking up, you let search engines know that you’re knowledgeable on these topics. And you already know that your audience will have banner blindness. If they can sense that your sole intent is to secretly become an advertisement, they are going to bounce off your page prematurely. That will hurt your SEO.
• Be consistent. Does one well-written article from eight years ago establish you as an authority on a topic? Not exactly. Will a search engine be more inclined to believe you are an authority if you regularly and consistently produce valuable content on a certain topic? Absolutely. Consistency is key.

Avoid Corner-Cutting

With AI, anyone can become a copywriter, right?

Wrong.

Search engines are developing tools to identify (and, subsequently, penalize) content created using artificial intelligence. The best content to have on your site is something you (or the professional SEO company you hired) wrote.

With each new algorithm update, quality SEO will still be standing. Search engines reward integrity. You won’t find a way to “cheat the system” that will provide sustainable results for your site.

Know Your SEO Targets

You can rank #1 for “pink scrunchies,” but it won’t do you any good if your inventory only has purple and orange hair accessories. Your target keywords should reflect your ideal buyer’s intent.

Figure out what your niche audience is turning to search engines to look for. Then, answer that question or solve that problem for them in your content.

In It for the Long Haul

Search engine optimization is your best bet if you want results that will continue to grow and guide organic search results to your page. No other strategy will help you continue to gain traffic through new trends and algorithm updates.