There is a clear difference between SEO and PPC. Search engine optimization is an activity that gets your product or your business on the top of organic listings or the unpaid section of search engines, while pay-per-click is the traffic generated to a site.

The Pros and Cons of SEO and PPC

We will look at the advantages and disadvantages of using SEO and PPC to expand your digital audience so you can make an informed decision.

Pros of SEO

SEO provides business owners with a steady stream of their targeted audience. There are billions of people on the internet every day looking for different services and goods. SEO lets you reach this large pool of potential clients without charging you for the traffic to your site.
When your SEO is done well, it can give you a lot of exposure on the internet. The SEO ensures that your website is seen by more people hence gradually driving people into your site.
An SEO can help you narrow your audience to your target prospects. This may save some time and increase your turn-around rate instead of attracting a large pool of the general audience.
SEO can help you grow your business by exposing you to the vast online community. When you secure a steady online presence through social media and your website, you are more likely to succeed in your business.
SEO ensures that you are the authority over your product in the digital marketplace. When you offer quality service or/and genuine information, clients will keep coming back.
You can contact the SEO job to a consultant, freelancer, company or you can do it yourself.
People working in the legal field can also access SEO via SEO campaign for Lawyers. SEO for lawyers is an SEO specifically for law firms that would like to increase their phone calls and also increase the cases they take each month.

Cons of SEO

The results of SEO are not immediate. It takes time for a business owner to start reaping the rewards of their website for quite a while. Indexing and ranking search engines can take several weeks to complete; it might also take a few hours.
If you spent money on optimizing your search engine, you may have to wait a little while before you get your money back. Return on investments takes a long time.
The SEO process may not be easy and may require expertise that can only be offered by a professional. The consultancy may be expensive especially if you are a new business owner or a small business owner.
SEO is not a guaranteed tool for success. You may not get as much traffic as you hoped for into your site.

Pros of PPC

PPC makes sure your ad is at the top of the search results. Your ad is seen before all the organic listings. Paying for the top spots could pay off because you get very high visibility. To get the highest spot, if you use Google ad words, you will need to bid for it. If your site is relevant and you have a high bid, you get a top spot.
With PPC you can choose the amount of money you would like to spend, you can set your budget, whereas, in SEO, you need to rely on experts who set the cost. You are in control of your ad because you decide how much to invest in your campaign.
PPC marketing gives you control over who you would like to target with your ad. When you post your ad, there are specifications on where your target clients are. This feature also allows your ad to be seen by a wider range of people than the locals.
You decide what time you want your ad displayed. If you would like to hide your ad for some time, PPC gives you the freedom to do so.
You can track progress and conversations. You can tell if your ad is being effective or not through the matrix that Google provides.
Since you can track your activities, you can also retarget those people who have already been introduced to your business.
Using PPC channels you can direct the path of the people who visit your website. You can direct readers straight to landing sites.
PPC can be used in conjunction with other digital marketing platforms such as SEO.

Cons of PPC

It is an expensive project that has to be maintained constantly. It is a permanent expense for your business, and it is not convenient for small businesses.
It may be affordable for some fields like eCommerce but in other fields like the legal field, there is too much competition for keywords so using PPC would not be very affordable.
The moment you stop paying for your ad it is taken down. There are no grace periods with PPC and the moment you miss a payment your ad is cut.
PPC is not a guarantee of success.

Although PPC is a good way to market your business, if you are a law practitioner, it would be better if you used SEO for your digital marketing needs because it provides a platform specifically designed for lawyers.

That is if you do not wish to use SEO and PPC in conjunction with one another.