Paid search is a tactic that companies use to increase their web traffic very quickly by paying for their site to be at the top of Google search results. The sites of companies that use paid search are seen before the organic search results but are also clicked on at a much lower rate. Paid search can have many benefits but also can present some disadvantages as well. Some of the advantages of paid search are that it brings in visitors immediately which results in quick lead generation. It is also pretty simple to execute since it is only dependent on how much money a company pays and not any of their actual content. Another advantage to paid search is that ads are not affected by Google algorithm changes. On the other hand, some disadvantages of paid search are that the results only last as you are willing to pay for them. Paid search has a low return on investment long-term and extremely expensive in competitive industries where ad buying is common. It is important to understand that paid search can be affective, but it is not sustainable, especially long-term. Because of this, Paid search is best used in tandem with SEO. SEO provides the organic, long-term value that paid search cannot provide. SEO functions very well as a primary marketing investment because it is organic, giving it more credibility. Effectively executing on an SEO strategy also requires narrowing keyword selection to a maximum of 4-6 focus areas, leaving out potentially valuable keywords. Paid search can serve as a way to fill these gaps, providing short term lead generation, a testing source for new keyword areas, and a way to drive leads form searches outside the main focus of an SEO campaign. Many companies partner with an agency to improve their SEO and paid search efforts.
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