Paid Traffic VS SEO... Which one do you vote for?

by Super Affiliate

Posted: 11 years ago 32 replies

Dear Fellow Warriors,

No doubt, I would vote for SEO since I'm a SEO guy for the past 13 years.

But for the past few weeks, I've been testing paid methods to drive traffic to my site and I was blown away by the result.

With SEO, it takes at least 60-90 days to really see the result. But when it comes to competitive keywords, it takes 6 - 9 months.

Even then, you got to live in fear not knowing when Big G will change its algorithms and your site will be out of the picture.

But with paid traffic, it's instant.

For a long time, I preferred FREE way to get traffic.... SEO. Though it takes time, as long as I keep at it and do all the right moves, I'll get there... eventually.

But that's not the reality any more.

It's not a matter of Google dance once in a while. With one wrong move, you're GONE! (ouch!)

So... have I done away with SEO now?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!

I'm still adding useful arsenal to my SEO toolbox whenever I see methods that are brilliant.

But I'm leaning more towards paid traffic because you can always get it whenever you want. Nice, eh?

So how about you?

What traffic method would you vote for and why?

To your online success,
Joe

#paid #seo #traffic #vote

Sumit thakur 11 years ago

1.banner ads are really easy to test and also cheap .
2. solo ads can really work good for any one who want to build his list
3. facebook ads works really good for some site
4. microsoft adcenter
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zenji 11 years ago

SEO by far
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KingMedia 11 years ago

SEO is awesome when it works... Mostly what I do these days.

PPC is great, IF you can get a good ROI. Any type of Adwords campaign is very expensive - and Facebook is creeping up there (cpc vs cpm).

I have limited experience with PPC methods, but always on the hunt for the right offer and the right campaign.
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bobtracz 11 years ago

I use paid traffic while waiting for the organic traffic to start
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talfighel 11 years ago

I never relied on Google for free traffic and never focused all my attention on it because this path may lead to nowhere. You can never rely on them forever. I used to think like that when I got started.

You always need to have a few strategies work for you at the same time.

Whether it is pay per click ads, solo ads, banner ads, article marketing, video marketing, forum marketing, blogging, etc.

Putting all your eggs into this basket of SEO is the wrong way of thinking.

There are people out there who relied on Google for years to get free traffic and make sales. Then big daddy Google changed its algorithms and there site is no where to be found.
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Dan J 11 years ago

I like Paid Traffic but like someone mentioned above, it is only worthwhile if you can make a ROI, otherwise you're just digging yourself a hole in your pocket.

PPC is perhaps my most used Paid Traffic source, however I am planning to take a step back on it for a little while so that I can focus on Youtube Marketing and use SEO strategies to rank my videos higher.

For me, free traffic methods represents more of a 'foundation' whereas paid traffic is very 'hit and miss'. Nothing wrong in diversifying your traffic strategies for sure..in fact, I encourage it!

BUT for now, my goal is to utilize what spare time i've got to build a more 'long-term' traffic source.

Peace and Prosperity.
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Aouragh

11 years ago

SEO, definitely.

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Alexa Smith

Banned 11 years ago

Of the two, I'd vote for paid traffic.

In this "election", I'd vote frequently and publicly, and I'd go out on the streets to campaign for it, too.

Of all the different sorts of traffic I've ever had, in 4 years, over 8 unrelated niches, SEO traffic has collectively been by far the worst performing kind of traffic for me. My search engine visitors stay less time, view fewer pages, opt in less often, and buy anything far less often than visitors from any other sources at all.

I have more than enough experience to know that that isn't a "huge coincidence" and that there are reasons for it.

When you look at the thousands of posts here, over the last two/three years, in which members describe how their businesses have been devastated by having made the gross blunder of depending on SEO traffic, the question's a bit of a no-brainer, really.

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lastreporter

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Alexa Smith

Of the two, I'd vote for paid traffic.

In this election, I'd vote frequently and publicly, and I'd go out on the streets to campaign for it, too.

Of all the different sorts of traffic I've ever had, in 4 years, over 8 unrelated niches, SEO traffic has collectively been by far the worst performing kind of traffic for me. Search engine visitors stay less time, view fewer pages, opt in less often, and buy anything far less often than visitors from any other sources at all.

I have more than enough experience to know that that isn't a "huge coincidence" and that there are reasons for it.

When you look at the thousands of posts here, over the last two/three years, in which members describe how their businesses have been devastated by having made the gross blunder of depending on SEO traffic, the question's a bit of a no-brainer, really.

Couldn't agree more. SEO is dead for me. I simply find it ineffective, frustrating and costly.

I once spent six months using SEO to build a site only to lose my traffic at the whim of the latest Google algorithm change. It finally dawned on me that Google is in the business of selling traffic, no giving it away.

In the beginning Google gave to get, but like all monopolies -- it's got and now it's demanding payment.

Trying to build reliable, quality traffic by spending hours, weeks, months or years creating eye-popping content hoping SEO will carry the day, is like trying to get around the world on a flea: it will bite the Hell out of you before you get out of your front door.

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domainarama 11 years ago

I've tried paid traffic from a few sources. Mostly it stinks. I've had sites with over 80k paid visitors and not a single click.
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trevord92 11 years ago

Paid traffic is definitely quicker unless Google decide they don't want you as an advertiser, then that has the same effect as getting de-ranked.

SEO is definitely longer term and subject to the whims of the algorithms but it still gets my vote. Long tail can bring in a steady stream of traffic and is so far off the radar it doesn't really get affected as often.
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blackli0n 11 years ago

Humanized SEO wins. It's the content that matters. If what you put on your website is so amazing that people everywhere are talking about it and sharing it, Google will respect that.

If you keep trying to beat or solve the algorithm, you'll never beat Google and more importantly, you'll never win over the people who actually do visit your site.
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Studio13 11 years ago

In reality, no vote need be cast — because you can take advantage of both.

Having been given the tools and opportunity to take advantage of both SEO and PAID, do both. In the event Google changes their TOS on paid ads, or any other paid ad network, and those TOS put your campaign in duress, you're left with finding an alternative.

So let's agree on a synergy, and multiple shades of grey. No black / white choice needs to be made here. And the pro's and con's of both are dependent on market and model.

While it's easy to take the other side for the sake of controversy, it's more beneficial to see the big picture and act accordingly.
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yasser

11 years ago

SEO is my favourite. It's where the challenge is

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JohnMcCabe

11 years ago

I prefer self-liquidating traffic.

If that means so-called 'free' traffic, great.

If that means paid traffic that makes back more than it costs, also great.

I wonder if any of the SEO zealots have added up how much they've spent on SEO services, content, tools, memberships, backlinks, etc. to get all that "free" traffic...

Yes, paid traffic can be like pouring money down a rat hole when you get it wrong. Get it right, and it's like buying $5 bills for $1 each. How many would you like?

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yasser

11 years ago

Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe

I prefer self-liquidating traffic.

I wonder if any of the SEO zealots have added up how much they've spent on SEO services, content, tools, memberships, backlinks, etc. to get all that "free" traffic...

Doesn't matter how much you spend. Do you make money at the end of day or not :confused:

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JohnMcCabe 11 years ago

Originally Posted by yasser

Doesn't matter how much you spend. Do you make money at the end of day or not :confused:

Hard to argue with that. Like I said, I love self-liquidating traffic.

If SEO makes you more money than you spend, way to go, have at it. Your SEO traffic is better than free - it's profitable.

Just don't kid yourself that search traffic is free just because you don't pay directly.
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Studio13

11 years ago

Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe

I prefer self-liquidating traffic.
Yes, paid traffic can be like pouring money down a rat hole when you get it wrong. Get it right, and it's like buying $5 bills for $1 each. How many would you like?

Well I want 1,000,000 $5 bills for $1 please!

Unfortunately the max market size available via paid ads isn't quite 1 million, so my want doesn't reflect the reality of what's avaliable.

So what to do?

You'll have to expand your influence into other forms of advertising -- "free", paid, JV, mobile, backend, offline, viral, network, affiliates, etc.

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strategic seo services 11 years ago

Originally Posted by yasser

SEO is my favourite. It's where the challenge is

I agree. I also favor SEO. I've never liked paid traffic.
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PerformanceMan 11 years ago

I prefer a combination of social, paid, SEO, and email list traffic. I don't trust any single source.
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PerformanceMan 11 years ago

When we say 'paid traffic' are we referring mainly to AdWords?
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- Content4Intent 11 years ago
  
  I get true joy out of boosting the rank for clients, and for myself by testing and implementing different SEO tactics, so I'll still say SEO. Although to be honest, one cannot argue with the results that can be achieved via paid traffic.
  
  One gentleman mentioned he uses paid traffic while he awaits his SEO results. I'd have to heartily agree with him on that type of action step.
  
  Thanks
  
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clintmyers 11 years ago

Paid traffic great to test ads and get your business starting while waiting for SEO to kick in. SEO is getting harder and harder so it is good to have a backup plan!
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Austin E Anthony 11 years ago

I love Seo traffic because it's free. Even if you have a product that is not converting, at least you know you are not losing money.
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- EFFOR 11 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Austin E Anthony
  
  I love Seo traffic because it's free. Even if you have a product that is not converting, at least you know you are not losing money.
  
  That's a misconception. SEO Traffic isn't free, your investing time and energy into trying to build traffic. That time and energy is lost opportunity and could have been better utilized creating a product that does convert.
  
  Products that don't convert via SEO sometimes do convert on PPC. Why? The difference is in the audience. PPC consumers are looking for a "now" solution and are much more likely looking to buy. SEO driven consumers are often trying to get as much free information as possible. Given the choices I think I'd rather target buyers.
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
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  ccole 11 years ago
  
  I'm still doing SEO as this is a long term opportunity to get traffic. I just need to make sure that I'm always using white hat techniques to really enjoy the long term success. SEO could be a very long process and you need to wait for its results. While I'm waiting, I'm doing social media marketing to drive traffic to my site. Organic traffic is crazy, though you just need to there in all times as possible.
  
  Paid traffic also has its advantages so you can make use of it.
  
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paul nicholls 11 years ago

Paid traffic all the way but I guess it comes down to how much you value your time

SEO can send some good traffic but personally when it comes to free traffic I would rather spend my time building traffic streams which I know will last a very long time and won't suddenly be nuked by some update

Paid traffic does have a steep learning curve but once you figure it out you have as much traffic on tap as you want
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danits 11 years ago

I think that a combination of both paid and free traffic is the best!

SEO is great since it's free... but it takes way too much time and with paid traffic you earn one of the most valuable things... which is your time!

For those who prefer focusing on FREE traffic, I highly recommend using Google Re-marketing. It's awesome and it can really increase your CTR.
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Raindance 11 years ago

Paid traffic for the same reason as you mentioned: the turnover time. You really see results in much shorter periods. The risk is pretty high as well, but you have to spend some time testing with paid advertising as well the way you would with other free methods. With paid traffic, you also don't have to do much pre-selling as you can directly lead the visitor to your sales page or catalog. SEO requires bigger strategy, and nobody knows how long it will actually take to show profits.
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Michael Ten 11 years ago

When I have more money, I plan to pay for high quality targeted traffic.
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Dustin Blevins 11 years ago

Due to my personal beliefs I assumed that SEO was the way to go. Due to that I set out to learn all I could. However, it wasn't until recently that I realized that my PPC campaigns were doing more good than my SEO efforts as well as the guys efforts that I was hiring.

When I google something I just skip the ads... So I assumed everyone else did. I still ran PPC, but I did not pay attention to it.

Last month I realized that my PPC campaign was bringing me more traffic than my organic ranked 3-5 pages :-/. Time for me to put more time to that!
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- ErikWeich31021 11 years ago
  
  PPC is like heroin, you have to keep paying to get it and if you don't know what your doing, you will simply get burnt and lose your money...
  
  SEO is like having a fruit tree, you need to plant it, grow it and keep watering it but it will continue to grow over time, producing fruit that you never even expected, especially when you consider that SEO today is not like it used to be, now SEO includes social media that makes for a more naturalized following...
  
  Obviously I think that seo is the way to go
  
  Thanks
  
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Paid Traffic VS SEO... Which one do you vote for?

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