PPC vs. SEO – What Will Bring You More ROI?

By Mitali Purkait Ghosh on July 19, 2018

At our newly founded digital marketing agency, we are already getting many queries from our clients about SEO vs PPC in 2025. They are inquiring whether it will be wise to invest in PPC or if SEO will be more beneficial to them. Now, to be honest with you, our experience says that often clients or the people who ask for our service are often at a loss to understand which is a better option for their business, owing to their lack of proper knowledge regarding the benefits and the real impact of these two ways of marketing. Hence, we decided to educate you, our dear reader, a bit about these two most popular avenues of digital marketing.

When you are searching for a digital marketing company for your business, you might get to know that the company you are choosing provides you with services like PPC and SEO, along with other services. This might make you question which one is the best option for you. To be precise about what these services actually are, SEO is the organic way to pull up your website to the top of the search results, while PPC is a way to buy a link, a marketing way to invest in the website so that the advertisement appears at the top of the search results, attracting more clicks. Now, if you are wondering what you should put your money on, then take a look at the following points about the difference between SEO and PPC to know more.

SEO vs PPC: Which is better?

Search Engine Optimization and Pay-Per-Click are both effective digital marketing strategies, but they serve different purposes and offer distinct benefits. Let’s take a closer look at their differences.

Key Points – SEO vs PPC Statistics to Consider

SEO and PPC are two effective digital marketing strategies with different strengths.

• Conversion Rates: Organic search has a 14.6% conversion rate, while PPC has a 10% conversion rate.
• ROI: PPC typically has a better ROI, with an average of $2 for every $1 spent, compared to SEO.
• Traffic Acquisition: SEO generates more than 10 times the traffic compared to organic social media channels.
• Cost: SEO requires an initial investment, but has lower ongoing costs, while PPC requires constant investment for campaigns to run.

State of SEO and PPC Today

SEO in 2025 is a whole new ball game. It’s not just about stuffing keywords anymore; it’s about building trust with your audience and search engines. Google wants to see that your website is a credible source of information, with helpful content, speedy loading, and a clear structure. And with AI changing the game, the future of SEO is exciting and unpredictable – find out more in this blog.

PPC advertising remains a fast way to drive website traffic in 2025, using platforms like Google Ads, Bing Ads, Meta, and LinkedIn. You pay for each ad click or impression, getting quick results, but costs are rising due to inflation and market saturation. This leads businesses to rethink their PPC strategy, often opting out due to high investments and risks.

Patience – the Game to Reach the Top

The main aim of digital marketing is to take the website to the top of the search results. Let’s do a quick ROI comparison between SEO and PPC. For that, if you are going to invest in SEO, then you must know that you have to be patient. SEO is an organic way to take the site to the top of the SERP while focusing on the relevant keywords and attracting traffic to the website that will gradually increase with time. Needless to say, it will need time for this endeavor to work. However, PPC offers you faster results. You will have to run ads based on the keywords that will automatically make it appear at the top of the SERP, as long as you are investing in it. This will attract more clicks. However, once you stop the ad, it won’t benefit you anymore.

Cost Effectiveness

SEO is definitely the most cost-effective process for digital marketing. Regular work on the keywords and the relevant links will ensure more traffic that will increase with time at the minimum cost. However, in the case of PPC, you have to keep putting money on it as long as you want your ads to run. Once a user clicks on the link, money will be deducted from your linked account. It is a way to buy each link on the internet. However, there is no assurance that the user who is clicking will be the relevant target audience for the campaign or this lead would turn into a sale.

Bounce Rate and Relevance

Chances of bounce rate decrease with proper SEO techniques. Since with the keywords you are attracting the relevant users to your website, they will be interested in your products or service which will ensure more relevance and lesser bounce rate. However, in the case of PPC, any random user on the internet can click on the link as it appears on the top of the search result. But chances of those users to leave the site remains very high which eventually contributes to the higher bounce rate and lesser relevance.

You Need a Balance

All said and done, you cannot and should not go with one particular way of marketing. We would suggest you strike a balance between these two endeavors and use them wisely for your brand. If you are fortunate and your keywords appear in the top three results on SERP, then there is no need for PPC. However, if this is not the case for your business, then investing in PPC can generate traffic and sale while you can keep the users interested with your brand with regular SEO works.

SEO and PPC: How they work together

SEO and PPC services are two powerful digital marketing strategies that can work together to maximize online presence and reach.

Here’s how to use SEO and PPC together:

• Increased visibility: By combining SEO and PPC, you can occupy multiple spots on the search engine results page, increasing your visibility and credibility with potential customers. This dominant presence can drive more clicks and conversions.
• Keyword insights: PPC data can provide valuable insights into keyword performance, which can inform your SEO keyword strategies. Conversely, SEO data can help you identify high-performing keywords to target with PPC campaigns.
• Targeted traffic: PPC can drive immediate, targeted traffic to your website, while SEO builds long-term organic traffic. By using both strategies, you can capture a wider audience and drive more relevant traffic to your site.
• Brand reinforcement: Consistent branding across SEO and PPC efforts reinforces your brand identity and builds trust with potential customers. This cohesive approach can strengthen your brand’s online presence and improve overall marketing effectiveness.

By combining SEO and PPC, businesses can create a robust online presence, drive targeted traffic, and increase conversions.

Role of AI in SEO and PPC

AI is revolutionizing both SEO and PPC, making them more efficient and effective. So, how can they help you?

AI in SEO: AI is a game-changer in SEO, analyzing vast amounts of data to uncover relevant keywords and predict emerging trends. It generates high-quality, engaging content that’s optimized for search engines, and fine-tunes meta tags, headings, and image alt text for maximum impact. 

AI also scans websites, identifying areas for improvement and suggesting targeted optimizations to boost search visibility. With its advanced NLP capabilities, AI understands the context and intent behind search queries, delivering more relevant results that meet user needs. Plus, AI personalizes search results based on user behavior and preferences, creating a more tailored and engaging experience. 

AI in PPC: AI is revolutionizing PPC advertising by adjusting bids, keywords, and ad testing in real-time, ensuring maximum ROI and campaign efficiency. It crafts compelling ad copy, headlines, and descriptions that resonate with target audiences, driving conversions and sales. 

AI dives deep into user behavior, demographics, and engagement patterns, uncovering valuable insights that inform ad targeting and optimization. With predictive analytics, AI forecasts campaign performance, empowering marketers to allocate budget effectively and make data-driven decisions. Plus, AI’s anomaly detection capabilities identify unusual spend spikes or performance drops, enabling swift action to protect campaign performance and budget.

Understanding the ROI of PPC vs. SEO can take years of practice to attain experience. If you are looking for professional help to find out what you need, SEO or PPC, or both, then come to us at Digital Concept. Call us at +91 9830140672 now for more details.

Mitali Purkait Ghosh

Mitali Purkait Ghosh, the Co-Founder of Digital Concepts, brings a wealth of knowledge and innovation to the marketing sphere. Mitali and her dedicated team offer unparalleled expertise in digital marketing and content writing, among other key online strategies.