Musings of a Professional UK SEO Consultant

It never ceases to amaze me how many people do not understand the difference between Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC).  I am also conscious that, education particularly when it comes to online marketing is incredibly important, a little while back I heard of another instance where PPC listings were being sold as SEO.  I’m also fed up of people championing SEO and rubbishing PPC (which can be a very effective form of marketing for many websites).  So to this end I have decided to briefly explain the differences between SEO and PPC.

The image below shows a search in Google and highlights where the PPC advertising and the Natural (or Algorithmic) search results appear.  While Google is not the only search engine it is probably the one that most people use and the results of Yahoo, Ask, Bing etc. appear in much the same way.

PPC & Natural (or Algorithmic) Search Results

What is SEO?

SEO is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic achieved through the Natural (or Algorithmic) search results.  The search engines are trying to return quality relevant content and the aim of SEO is to help make your site pages as relevant as possible for the phrases that you are targeting.  SEO normally involves keyword and competitor research in the first instance followed by input into both the site itself and also into offsite elements.

What is Pay Per Click (PPC)

To put it (very) simply PPC works by the advertiser selecting appropriate keywords that will then trigger their adverts. When a user types in the keywords the advert is displayed (there are other variables involved but this is a short article). If the user clicks on the advert then the advertiser pays, hence the phrase Pay Per Click.

What are the Benefits of PPC?

• You can use PPC to test your business ideas
• PPC can be set up immediately, SEO can be a slow burn
• PPC can inform your future SEO strategy
• It is flexible; you can turn off the campaign, reduce spend, refocus your adverts etc.

Further Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_per_click
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization

Before anyone else asks, yes I am looking at impoving / personalise the theme of this blog I am simply starting with one of the free wordpress themes and moving on from there.  Suggestions on paid theme sources are welcome (comments closed on here at present while I find my feet) but feel free to contact me at JustinMarch.com with any ideas.

I have been racking my brains trying to think of a truly wiz bang idea for my first official post on this blog; it suddenly occurred that too much thought = no work.  So I settled on coming up with a list of third party resources to educate and inform those who are about to hire an SEO or develop a website.

Google Webmaster Guidelines
The Google Webmaster Guidelines are a good place to start to ascertain Googles’ position on SEO and what to look for when hiring an SEO consultant.

Google Search Engine Optimisation Starter Guide
If you want to obey all of the rules this is an excellent overview of the basics.

The SeoMoz Beginner’s Guide to Search Engine Optimisation
The SeoMoz Beginner’s Guide to SEO is again an excellent overview of some of the processes used by SEOMoz a well respected company.

High Rankings Forum
Run by the famous Jill Whalen this is a great place to ask your SEO related questions.

Digital Point Forum
Another great Forum although unlike High Rankings I feel that often some of the less likely theories go unchallenged.

So there it is my first official post, more to come over the next couple of days whan I have a chance to think about some meatier topics.

At last I have taken the plunge and decided to launch a blog.  At present as you can see the blog is entitled “Musings of a UK SEO Consultant” although this may change depending on my mood and the way my business develops.