Which is a better bet – paying for advertising or investing in content?
Over the last few weeks I’ve spoken to various clients and potential clients about adding more content to their websites.
By and large they ‘get’ the content idea – they know that great content will attract new visitors, they know it can retain existing customers and they like the idea of being a trusted resource in their industries.
But they also know that content takes time. It takes time to create and it takes to deliver.
Unlike advertising. You can set up an Adwords account and start getting targeted website visitors in a day.
So which is the better bet? Advertising (like PPC) or long-term content building?
Horses for Courses
Perhaps unsurprisingly the perfect answer lies somewhere between the two as both serve different needs.
If you need an immediate response then advertising wins, hands down. Unless you already have an established social network or a substantial fan base (customers, blog readers, newsletter subscribers), content takes time.
However, advertising without content fails on two counts.
Firstly, assuming your advertising does its job, you’ll need content to hook visitors in and help convert browsers to buyers. Otherwise it’s like packing a restaurant only to turn around and tell everyone there’s nothing on the menu.
Secondly, advertising costs money. So does creating great content. But whereas content lives on, advertising is a one shot deal.
Turn your PPC ads off and the traffic dries up. Create a great resource on your website or unique blog post and the search engines could be sending that page traffic for years to come.
Striking the Balance
Every business should invest in creating informative content but advertising has a role to play too. If you need 500 visitors a day now, then advertising is your answer – but – regular investments of time and resources into creating great content can slowly ween you off your advertising addiction.
After a month you might only need to pay for 450 visitors, after a few months content could provide half your target and after a year you could be totally self-sufficient.
After that, advertising becomes the cream on the top – not the bedrock of your business.
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Nice writing. You are on my RSS reader now so I can read more from you down the road.
Allen Taylor
Nice suggestions. It’s worked fairly well for me. I hate doing too much PPC work, but sometimes you just have to get that traffic up fast while your content is churning away in the search engines.
@Brett – I agree, advertising (especially PPC) can certainly drive traffic but it’s an expensive game to play over the long term.
Better,as you suggest, to use it as a means to an end as you content establishes itself.
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