I was reading some interesting facts the other day about spending habits of companies when it comes to PPC management spending versus organic SEO spending.

To sum it up, SEO accounts for 75% of all search traffic, but only accounts for roughly 15% of search engine marketing (SEM) budgets.

On the other hand, PPC campaigns and PPC management accounts for 80% of SEM budgets, but produces less than 25% of search traffic.

So, why the disparity between the two SEM efforts?

If you ask me, the popularity of PPC advertising over organic SEO is a carry-over from the belief that if you pay for advertising, people will look at it and buy from you. I also believe that people are drawn to the immediate results of PPC advertising and are turned off by the long-term commitment that comes with organic search marketing.

To me, both of these beliefs can cause a company to miss out on the real value and ROI that comes with organic search marketing.

Once you look deeper in to the benefits of organic search marketing and compare them to PPC advertising, I think you’ll realize that both should have a place in your SEM budget. The budget numbers, however, should reflect the ROI (or potential ROI) that each tactic can bring.

I’m obviously not telling you to cancel your PPC campaign. What I’m saying is that too many companies are focusing budget dollars on pay-per-click efforts when they should be prioritizing long-term organic search goals.

There’s enough proof out there to show us that while PPC marketing is effective, it’s not as effective as organic SEO efforts.

How is your SEM budget divided? What’s your rationale for it?

If you’re looking for advice on PPC management or other SEO efforts, you know where to find me.
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