A lot of people have an idea of what digital marketing is and what it consists of, but a common question I get is “What should I focus on, paid or organic marketing?” The answer here is… both. A good digital marketing strategy has both components, and making these components work together is what a true digital marketer strives for.
Paid digital marketing is any advertising you do online that costs you money. This consists of Google Adwords, Facebook advertising, anything where you are paying per click, per conversion, per impression, etc. This drives immediate traffic and makes you instantly visible on search engines and social media.
Organic digital marketing is when you are coming up with original content for blogs, landing pages, social media and more that establishes your credibility as an authority on a topic, and Google and other search engines rank you highly. This helps people find you on search engines and social media quickly, and shows your audience that you are the expert and not your competitors.
So what’s better? Well this is comparing a marathon to a sprint.
For companies just starting up, I strongly suggest paid advertising while you build up your web presence and grow your organic traffic. This will get you immediate visibility and buy you some time while Google and other search engines learn what you are about and that you are serious about generating useful content for your audience.
Once you have a solid Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy in place and are consistently executing on that strategy, you can get very granular with your paid strategy. Your organic strategy and paid strategy can work together to maximize effectiveness and efficiency, making paid ads cheaper and organic content easier.
So my advice is to always have both strategies working together in a cost effective and efficient way.
Don’t spend unnecessary money on long tailed keywords that you can rank for more easily
Maximize your exposure and your budget by bidding on broad terms you rank for but maybe not very high
Have a targeted approach to paid advertising to put your budget exactly where you want it
Write content that engages your audience and is written both for people and for search engines
Most importantly, constantly reassess the effectiveness of your overall strategy.
Marketing is about trial and error, what works for your competitors may not work as well for you and you may find a niche or forgotten space in your industry your competitors haven’t. Don’t be afraid to experiment with your approach, you may find a marketing gold mine!