I would definitely do some research here on the forums on PPC before you dive in. It can be very costly if you don't know what you're doing.

Here is an article on PPC basics that might help.

Rookie or Veteran - PPC Basics Every Advertiser Should Know and Use | The Adventures of PPC Hero

As far as SEO, you can find lots of good free information here on the forums, but I do recomend the SEO lies book by Justin Brooke. The digital version is only $1. Just google 'SEO Lies'.

I say BOTH!

With PPC advertising, you can get laser targeted traffic almost immediately so that you can test your sales page and even do split testing (different sales pages, different background colors, different prices, etc.)

You can cap your spending at $5 - $10 per day to make sure you don't overspend and you can always pause or stop your ads at anytime as well.

And you should also build back links to your site, keyword optimize it and do all of the other things that go along with optimizing your site (SEO) because these things are basic "internet marketing 101."

I don't think anyone should put "all of their eggs in one basket" when it comes to advertising online. Most businesses use multiple advertising platforms or at least test out different ones from time to time.

Would you limit your advertising to just Craigslist alone? I don't think so... So then why would you limit yourself to "JUST SEO" or "JUST PPC?" Take advantage of ALL the internet advertising opportunities out there -- It will only help your business make MORE MONEY in the end.

My 2 cents!

Best,
Shane

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If I had to go one route, I'd go PPC: it's faster, it's more flexible, and you're entirely in charge of the whole thing. With SEO you're always dependent on Quality Scores, Google algorithm updates, and a whole other bunch of stuff that are not under your control.

With PPC, you've got to test and test and test otherwise you'll waste your money. SEO traffic is free, but is harder to get. Whichever one you go for, research it like crazy before jumping in.

I agree with Mike and Shane.

Mike's link is a good place to start, if you are going to do it yourself. Learn before jumping in or hire someone like me to do it for you, or at least get started on the right foot.

Shane's right, you should do both. I agree with all he says. PPC will get you instant targeted traffic, good SEO, which your site needs, can get more. You can also learn from PPC for your SEO efforts, for example, which keywords are used most and which convert best. PPC also allows you to test and this can increase your SEO clicks.

So, do both. Learn the strengths and weaknesses of each. Apply the strenths of one to the other.

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PPC good for short term fix, providing CPC is not too high for your chosen keywords
SEO for very competitive words as a gradual process and definitely for the longer term.

There can be no umbrella solution here since everything depends on the goals you have. PPC involves short-term planning, whereas SEO is a long-term project. A viable solution could be a combination of both, although you need to be careful in spreading your effort effectively.

The problem with PPC is that the second you stop paying, the traffic stops.A long term strategy is to write excellent content on your blog and you will rank well in the engines over time.Keyword research and optimization is the key.

Whenever I am working on a site, I first use PPC to test keywords. If the campaign is very profitable I will leave it on. If it breaks even or loses money I will prob turn it off. Then I go through the campaign pull out all of the keywords that I found converted and work on those for SEO. There is no sense in going into an SEO campaign without having proven the keywords will convert. SEO traffic is always thought of as free traffic, but it costs a lot for software, employees, etc..to build backlinks. if you are going to really do it effectively.
So:
1:Keyword research
2:Set up campaigns
3:Tweak and Turn off unpeforming campaings
4:Set up seo based on PPC results

If you dont have much money to spend on PPC and you really dont know what you are doing then, that would be an exception to this strategy. In that case I would recommend spending more time on SEO using free link building methods.

mlongley is absolutely right.

> The problem with PPC is that the second you stop paying, the traffic stops

Is it not a problem with SEO as well? The second you fall off in rankings, the traffic stops. PPC would fill the gaps until you can get better organic rankings.

thanks everyone

Both is the definitely the way to go...

I highly recommend trying out basic videos as well...

The traffic you can get from videos is absolutely amazing in some information dense niches like the sub niches for health problems, making money, etc...

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using PPC means you need to invest money and for SEO you need to invest time only. It only depends upon you which process you want to hire.

SEO is good if you are thinking about long term success. PPC is good if you want to make money right now. The problem with PPC is that you have the possibilty to lose money. With organic seo, the clicks are free, so there is a possibility to make a lot more money.