There are many variables to consider when planning marketing campaigns for e-commerce websites. Every business is different and would have different objectives, and often, business goals change even within the same organization. For companies based online, these goals change even more frequently to keep up with algorithm changes.

If you are building a campaign, you need to determine if SEO or PPC is the better choice for your business. If you are not sure which to prioritize, here is an overview of both and how digital marketing agencies use them.

Search engine optimization or SEO

SEO or search engine optimization focuses on raising your website’s organic ranking. You can do this by uploading videos on YouTube, Snapchat, or other channels, posting articles on a blog or LinkedIn, creating white papers for email lists, guest posting on niche sites, and linking your website to social media platforms like Facebook.

Whichever channel you choose should establish your brand authority, cost competitiveness, quality, and more. You do this through your content—it should be relevant to your audience, so people will keep engaging with your website or social media page. Apart from relevance, your site should be adaptable to smartphones. Customers should find it easy to navigate your website even if they are on mobile devices.

Pay-per-click or PPC advertising

If you use sponsored ads without researching them beforehand, you might find yourself or your business funding an expensive learning curve. Doing keyword research is vital to understanding what audiences are looking for online. Observe what competitors are doing and observe both the amount they bid and their ads’ structure and language.

Checking your metrics is crucial in helping you conserve your budget. Looking at daily conversions and consultancy appointments will give you a clear idea of what resonates with consumers. Also, your ads should align with your product descriptions on landing pages.

Doing all of these is possible in-house, but you can also hire PPC management experts. If you’re committed to deploying PPC campaigns from inside the company, you need to prepare for planned split tests and studying variations among ads. Trial-and-error is a necessary part of the process.

You must also know the terminologies, like cost per impression, cost per click, and cost per acquisition. Cost per impression means the amount you pay for each time your advertisement shows up to audiences. Banner ads and text ads, which you can acquire in bulk and measure through CPI, have a click-through rate of about three percent.

Meanwhile, CPC or cost per click calculates the amount spent on each click to your website. It tells you how much of that amount converts into sales. Finally, CPA or cost per acquisition computes how much it takes to get a new customer or sale.

Conclusion

Getting your digital marketing efforts off the ground means understanding how to get in front of people online. Using both SEO and PPC will help you find the right consumers, but you need to understand how to leverage each method. Whether you’re hiring a digital marketing agency or doing things in-house, you have to know how to succeed in both SEO or PPC campaigns.

Have a greater reach with your brand when you partner with Discover My Business. We are a digital marketing agency in New York, NY, helping companies build their success online. Schedule a consultation call with us to get started!