SEO and PPC: the Oven and the Microwave
By Alex on December 3, 2018 in Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
Here we go again. It’s known by some that I love analogies (they work!). It takes a complicated subject and gets to the gist of what we all can relate to and understand. I use them all the time: from choosing the right keywords to localized content on your website to presentations on responsive design to Internet Marketing and the Scientific Method.
For this analogy installment, I often reference how Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is comparable to an oven and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) is comparable to a microwave. When we set the cooking temperature of an oven to 425 degrees, it takes time to warm up but once it does, it’s HOT and it does a thorough job. This is akin to setting a super high objective for SEO. Unlike a lower setting of 175 degrees (i.e. a more obtainable objective), this higher objective takes time for the SEO “oven” to warm up and reach its goal. PPC, on the other hand, can be turned on, paused, restarted, and – generally speaking – it can get “hot” very quickly.
This analogy is particularly helpful when deciding what campaign may be right for your firm. If your firm is looking to test the waters within a given market, PPC may be best. If your firm knows this is a long-term committed goal, SEO may be more suited for reaching that objective. Hopefully, the gist of this point comes across and there are probably a ton of other analogies that could be used for this same principle (like, SEO is like a marathon while PPC is like a sprint).
Another important facet of why this oven analogy directly applies to time is link building within SEO. While content (i.e. relevancy) can sometimes materialize (or be indexed) quicker – as we can notify Google to reindex, or Fetch, content, link Building takes time to mature. Some links, from local citations to Directory listings to PR content, can take anywhere from 30 to 180 days to go from “pending” to “complete”. Reaping the benefits of these links is not immediate. Like an oven, it will stay warm for a while after being stopped yet, eventually, it will cool down. This directly applies to link building and SEO.
Since it takes time to reach its optimal point, start your SEO campaign now! Contact us to find out how we can help.
