SEO vs PPC – Time for a Fight! [Infographic]

The gloves are off, share your opinions and state your case… (Original image source: fitupsports.com)

Today is day 3 of our infographic week based on the The Ultimate Guide to Marketing with Infographics, and I’ll be sharing our second infographic example using the 12 steps from the guide to make it awesomer. Don’t forget to check out the first example about “Always Be Testing – 24 Split Testing Ideas” from yesterday too if you missed it.

Could SEO kick PPC’s ass?

There are a ton of pros and cons for each which you’ll learn about if you read the tiny writing in the infographic below. To make it easier, I’ll dig into some of the juicier details here – and be sure to check out the tweet-ready quotes at the bottom.

Seconds out, round 1. Let’s see how the fight goes.

Why SEO Would Win the Fight

  1. SEO’s return on investment will continue to rise long after PPC has peaked. This is because of several reasons. If you are consistently searching for similar terms (because it’s your field of interest) then you will start to see the same ads and develop the equivalent of banner blindness (visually tuning out the ads). UPPERCUT!
  2. 85% of clicks resulting from a search are on the organic links rather than the paid ads. HAYMAKER!
  3. 86% of web searchers trust organic SEO listings more than sponsored/paid PPC listings. LOW-BLOW! (ouch)

Why PPC Would Win the Fight

  1. PPC has instant results and can generate visitors as soon as you turn on the taps (much faster than SEO which needs to build authority for your site). Adding in a crowd sourced company like Trada and you can not only take the work off your plate – but see a higher ROI as a result. #RABBITPUNCH
  2. You can manage your budget and measure your ROI much more easily with PPC. #STIFFJAB
  3. 50% of people arriving at a retailers site from paid ads are more likely to buy than those who came from an organic link. #KIDNEYPUNCH

Who Do You Think Won the Fight? Tell us in the Comments

Got a preference or argument about SEO vs PPC – tell us! – let’s fight about it for real. It’ll be fun.



A more succinct set comparison of SEO vs PPC (Image source)

Tweetable Facts

  • SEO’s return on investment will continue to rise long after PPC has peaked [Infographic]
    » tweet this «
  • [Infographic] #PPC has instant results and can generate visitors early in a site launch (faster than #SEO)
    » tweet this «
  • 86% of web searchers trust #SEO listings more than sponsored #PPC listings [Infographic]
    » tweet this «
  • [Infographic] #PPC use declined 60% between 2007 and 2010
    » tweet this «
  • Only 50% of web searchers are aware of the difference between organic and paid search results [Infographic]
    » tweet this «

— Oli Gardner

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About Oli Gardner
Unbounce co-founder Oli Gardner has seen more landing pages than anyone on the planet. He’s obsessed with identifying and reversing bad marketing practices, and his disdain for marketers who send campaign traffic to their homepage is legendary, resulting in landing page rants that can peel paint off an unpainted wall. A prolific international keynote speaker, Oli is on a mission to rid the world of marketing mediocrity by using data-informed copywriting, design, interaction, and psychology to create a more delightful experience for marketers and customers alike. He was recently named the "The 2018 Marketer to Watch," in the under 46 category, by his mother.
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