Pay Per Click vs. Organic Listings - a Price Comparison

In today's search engine marketing world, you're either in for the quick buck or in with the long haul. As pay per click advertising gets stronger (due to it's top rankings and quick buying appeal), it is also getting more competitive. In the same rate, since organic listings (the ones you see below the pay per click listings) are "free", they tend to get even more competive. Below, take a look at what each can offer; then see how they compare:

Organic Listings

Pay Per Click Listings

So, What do the Costs Involve?

Good question...but it's vague at best. To better gauge costs, let's take a look at an example of a very competitive industry: real estate in southwest florida.

Pay Per Click listings: To date (1st quarter, 2004), the competitive term "Naples Florida real estate" costs roughly $5 per click. Although most of the listings out there average between $.50 to $10 (or more), this term is quite well known to generate great, targeted traffic to their real estate site. If you can afford it, being listed at the top is definitely worth your return on investment (ROI). And, since most real estate commissions are around 6% of the sold home, a realtor can have a budget for spending. But, if they are like most small business realtors, this price might get out of hand. For example, if a realtor had a $3000 budget per month, they would receive 600 targeted visitors per month.

Organic Listings : Think of organic listings like a train. At first, it's quite slow to go. But, after a couple of months, you're site can receive quality, targeted traffic. In the case for the real estate industry, it usually takes much more time and energy to make a realtor sucessful. Most of the information from the southwest florida real estate industry has already been optimized. And, this type of industry is known to try and cheat the search engines by using short-term spamming techniques. However, if a real estate agent or a hired company finds the right paths, they can get listed quite well. And their budget dollars can usually stretch much farther than pay per click listings. Again, using the $3000 budget, a real estate agent can use a search engine marketing company for six months (or even longer!). This, though, depends on many factors and should be consulted with a company that best suits your interest.

What's the Bottom Line?

In the search engine world, it all depends on timing and budget. If you are a company to get your product/service up quickly, then pay per click is a good way to start. However, make sure you watch the budget closely! For small businesses on a budget, organic listings are the only way to go. They have traditionally been the best ROI. But, it takes time and energy to get listed for competitive keywords that receive quality traffic. Of course, if you want to really dive in, you can do both by using pay per click in the beginning while your organic listings are rising. Once the organic listings are up, drop the pay per click listings (or use them strictly for branding purposes). If you have any further questions about pay per click vs. organic listings, please contact us. We can show you the best online route for your small business.