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SEO vs Print Ads - looking for bullet points

by mrcouchpotato
9 replies
I want to start working on a promotional flyer for my SEO service and I'm looking to do a comparison between print advertising costs and monthly SEO costs.

Basically explain why it's better to spend $500/mo on SEO rather than $500/mo using direct mail or advertising in a local magazine.

The main ones I can think of are...

1. Customers searching on Google are more targeted as opposed to the general public reading a magazine or doing a generic mailer.

2. Customers are only a cell phone or computer away from finding you on Google as opposed to having to have the magazine or mailer in front of them.

3. Monthly SEO results can easily be tracked and can be quickly modified if necessary.

Any other ones I can add?

Thanks.

Mike
#ads #bullet #points #print #seo
  • Profile picture of the author s62731
    With seo only a handful of businesses get all the traffic >>> new clients and customers.

    If it isn't them it is one of their competitors.

    Basically - Don't let your competitors get all your business! Someone is getting it, make it you.
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  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    Mrcouchpotato

    I have a question for you first... Do you truly believe your clients are better off spending $500 a month on SEO instead of their current methods of advertising? Just curious here, I love SEO, but I'm not sure I would ever present it like that! You're accepting quite a lot of responsibility there! It would also seem like you would be working against yourself, turning a number into a prospect, and then pushing them out of their comfort zone switching the only marketing plan they ever knew of!
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  • Profile picture of the author tobyddd
    Hard to justify without knowing more about the business and the type of magazine/local advertising. If the magazine has traditionally brought in customers - it might be even harder - you'd also want to find out the readership type (A,B,C1,C2,D,E) that it captures - and then relate that to your clients business.

    You could also do a bit of keyword research - see how many local searches are going on for their main keywords - then relate that to the readership of the magazine / number of households they hit with direct mail.
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    • Profile picture of the author mrcouchpotato
      Well, this was actually going to be a generic flyer, not for a specific business.

      I guess you have a point about heading down the wrong path comparing print vs SEO. I didn't really think about that.

      All I was trying to do was compare the two and hopefully SEO would come out on top.

      But maybe a better way would give the pros and cons for each and let the client decide which is best (since I'm also providing a graphic design service as well and I can design their print ad for them).

      Mike
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      • Profile picture of the author MrCake420
        I personally, do not think print ads and seo are comparable as they are two different monsters.

        Like you said, seo targets those usually looking for that certain product/service. Where print ads, when you get them in your mailbox, might ring a bell, or remind a customer of that service/product and cause you to maybe search for that product, or better, call the business.

        Print ads are like television ads, 1 ad is not going to make much of a difference, you will need multiple ads, targeted to the same audience, numerous time, before seeing the true effects of print ads. Sure, a few people call from print ads, but the true benefit is being able to show that same person your ad 6 or 7 times. If you take a look at alot of newspapers, coupon books, etc, they are the same ones advertising each time the publication is printed.


        If a person sees your ad for webdesign in the newspaper, they might not think much of it, but if you ad was in that newspaper for the last year, big difference, they now "recognize" your company.

        I think SEO and print ads almost go with each other. I see a print ad for "Bobs windows and doors", this reminds me I need windows, so I goto google and search for "windows my town", hopefully for bob, his site pops up.

        Just my honest view from the other side of the fence having zero knowledge on seo.
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      • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
        Originally Posted by mrcouchpotato View Post

        Well, this was actually going to be a generic flyer, not for a specific business.

        I guess you have a point about heading down the wrong path comparing print vs SEO. I didn't really think about that.

        All I was trying to do was compare the two and hopefully SEO would come out on top.

        But maybe a better way would give the pros and cons for each and let the client decide which is best (since I'm also providing a graphic design service as well and I can design their print ad for them).

        Mike
        You know, I'm glad you posted this, not saying that you have this problem but I think most offline marketing consultants DO have this problem. The problem being, that many people think they need to persuade people to drop their current services for the ones they are offering. I see it all the time here.

        You providing graphic design, gives you an advantage. You can offer the best of both worlds!

        Some basic comparisons:

        Branding and visibility. Print ads can reach people who do not have internet access, or might be slow with computers. While SEO can give you more targeted traffic or leads, print ads can reach people on a wider scale. I used to do magazine sales to sell ads to businesses, and one poll we did asking our readers how long they keep our magazines, 80% of our readers kept the magazines 3 months or longer. That is huge! You're getting out there to people who do need you, and who do not need you, YET. If I have a local magazine and I know there is an ad in there from 2 months ago that I saw and I need whatever service this is, I'm going through that before searching in google, well maybe.

        Overall in branding and visibility, edge goes to: Print

        Targeted leads. SEO is one dimensional, SEO is not going to help someone who is not using the internet(these people are still out there, weirdos) but it does provide more targeted leads for those searching. Print ads might reach more people, but out of the amount of people how many are REALLY in a need for their service? SEO provides very targeted leads, for people that are wanting to buy now!

        Targeted leads - advantage SEO


        Return on investment - What is more cost effective? Most of us would say SEO without a doubt... the reality is, that SEO COULD be more cost effective in the long run, but then again it may not. Now in the eyes of business owners, this is what they see and know if they are somewhat savvy. They get calls from people pitching SEO all the time, some of them have used people like this with no luck. their ROI is nada, because they didn't get results. This is a tricky one because you need to factor in perception vs. reality. There are many people, even experienced internet marketers that think SEO is 100% a scam. These are also respected members on this forum that think this. You have flaky offliners eager to make sales without delivering results that egg this theory on. Print can be expensive, if you factor in design of the ad, the type of ad, and placement. However, it usually works. Sometimes it works wonderfully.

        Return on investment edge goes to: Tie

        I don't believe it is something you should pick one over the other with. Both can be effective, sometimes more effective than the other but there is no clear winner. I may come back in a year or two from now and argue with myself depending on if things change or not, but both can be great, or both can be disappointing.
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  • Profile picture of the author fosterandersen
    Also-not as many people are not reading print stuff, they are online reading. Not to mention the cost of mailings or newspaper subsrciptions.

    Online marketing opens up larger doors and opens up numerous leads and collaboration opportunities.
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  • Profile picture of the author mjbmedia
    dont agree with saying one is better than the other, as you say later on it depends on a number of factors.
    However one massive advantage with online is the content will ALWAYS be there 24/7 365 days a year whereas a printed ad in a publication will only last as long as the publication and often a lot less as the publication is discarded well before it falls apart, and likely even less in a printed leaflet format
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    Mike

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  • Profile picture of the author Warrior Ben
    When it comes down to it, business owners are looking for an ROI on their investment. It is very difficult to track ROI when it comes to print advertising. If you do SEO right, which includes having an optimized webpage to capture leads, the benefits of SEO are very easy to see. So I guess what I'm getting at is a great bullet point would be, Trackable ROI.

    Just my 2 cents...
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