If you have a company or if you are fond of reading about marketing, you would have often come across the terms digital marketing, search engine optimization, Google Adwords, pay-per-click and whatnot. While all of these terms are related to each other under the common umbrella of digital marketing, they differ in their applicability, usage and functioning. People who come from a non-marketing background often find themselves confused and misled in this field.

Two commonly misinterpreted and wrongly used terms in exchange of each other are search engine optimization or SEO and Google Adwords. While SEO is an activity that aims to optimize your company’s website in an attempt to organically achieve the best ranking in search engine results, Google Adwords is an approach towards pay-per-click in which companies can pay Google to promote their website inorganically when users search for a specific keyword.

Both these approaches are different in their execution and their differences are listed below:

1.          Organic v/s Inorganic

SEO is an organic approach for companies to promote themselves and their products or services whereas Google Adwords is a completely inorganic service as it involves promotion in exchange for payment. Through SEO companies work hard to come out on top of Google’s ranking and actually stay thereby adhering to Google’s ever-changing algorithms and means. This is a process that requires time and dedication. Google Adwords, on the other hand, is a process that can happen overnight and the only research companies would have to conduct is selecting relevant keywords for their business.

2.          Credible v/s Promoted

Oftentimes when users search for something on Google and see a sponsored ad for one company and an organically ranked search result for another company, research says that they are likely to trust the latter more. While they might ultimately visit both websites, they would think the organically ranked website and company to be more credible in comparison to the promoted company or website. This is a common phenomenon and hence companies often invest in both SEO and Google Adwords which is why one would often find the same company or website being featured twice in search results – once organically and the second time through Google Adwords.

3.          Unpaid v/s Paid

While both of these endeavours ultimately require money, SEO can be performed in-house and you wouldn’t need to pay an external entity as long as you don’t decide to outsource the task of search engine optimization. However, Google Adwords is a fully paid activity and many Google Adwords Management Agency in Sydney hold expertise in gaining and executing outsources Google Adwords work globally.

4.          Overall promotion v/s Online Traffic

While SEO focuses and yields results in terms of improving your organic search engine ranking, website’s usability and user experience, the content on your website, etc., Google Adwords simply ensures a flow of traffic on your website. While the results of both these approaches are good for the company and for your business, they both differ in the way you gain new customers.