Some things occur naturally, while others require a bit of money. Both are OK, but it’s important to know the route to go when it comes to search marketing, which refers to how your healthcare website is promoted on search engines. Organic and paid search marketing are both common digital marketing approaches, but they have quite a few differences.
Organic search marketing refers to your site ranking high on search engine results pages (SERPs) using search engine optimization (SEO) without paid advertising. Paid search marketing refers to pay-per-click ads that are placed at the top of the SERPs. Both can bring in traffic, and learning about the differences between the two will help you decide the best course of action for your healthcare business.
Key difference 1: Cost and investment
Sometimes the price tag is one of the leading contributing factors to making a marketing decision. While both cost a bit of money, return on investment (ROI) largely favors organic search when compared to paid search.
Paid search requires one-time payments for an advertisement, but you’ll only see the jump in metrics that you’re looking for while the campaign is running. You’re likely to see a quick drop when the ads are no longer at the very top of relevant SERPs. So it can bring quick jumps in revenue, which may be beneficial for time-sensitive campaigns, such as promotions.
Organic search can take a few resources to get the efforts going (e.g., content creation), but it provides sustainable growth. It has very few entry and maintenance costs. Once you rank high on SERPS, you’ll see a steady flow of traffic, likely leading to a steady flow of conversions and revenue. Effective SEO campaigns have an average ROI of more than 700%.
Key difference 2: Time to results
The earlier the diagnosis for a person’s health concerns, the better off they’ll be for positive results. It can be tempting to have the same opinion about search marketing results, but that depends on which option you choose.
Paid search efforts provide immediate results when you launch an advertising campaign because they are quickly placed at the top of SERPs that you bid on. Since your ad is the first thing that people will see when they look up a relevant healthcare query, you’re likely to see immediate increases in traffic and conversions.
The results from organic search are more of a slow process, as it takes time for your site to climb the ranks and for the algorithm to gain an accurate understanding of your content. It can take an average of three to six months to start to see the increases in your traffic.
Key difference 3: Visibility and credibility
Your credibility and online visibility can have an impact on how your business is perceived by potential customers and your overall reputation. When you’re seen high up on a SERP, you’ll have more eyes on your business and users will associate you with being high quality and an authority in your field.
Paid search marketing can provide high visibility, as you’d be the first search result that they see. However, it actually doesn’t always paint you in the most trustworthy way. Some users might assume that you’re simply buying the placement without needing to prove your authority. Not only is this a perceived bias, but users may also reach ad fatigue.
On the other hand, organic search provides a boost in both visibility and credibility once you reach high ranking through SEO. You’ll have more eyes on your site while also getting the stamp of approval from the algorithm that you’re a trustworthy source.
Key difference 4: Targeting and reach
You may want your site to be seen by as many people as possible, but you also want to reach the right people who are likely to actually become customers.
For paid advertising, you’re able to target the exact people you want to reach because you can choose the relevant keywords that your ads appear for. With this precise targeting, you’ll gain traffic from high-quality leads — users who are actively searching for the information you’re providing.
With organic search, you can broaden your reach by targeting as many relevant keywords as possible based on the capacity of your team and the scope of your keyword research.
Choosing the right strategy for your healthcare business
Just as the accuracy of your treatment for your patients is essential for their overall well-being, choosing the best option for your search marketing strategy is essential for your business growth.
Both paid and organic search marketing can be beneficial for your healthcare business. That being said, more than 50% of all website traffic comes from organic search. At BURG+CO., we believe that organic search marketing effectively appeals to both the algorithm and the user.
Our SEO services can help you create and manage a digital marketing strategy that plays a role in increasing conversions and leading to new patients. However, it’s difficult to attract visitors to your site when you don’t know what to do. Fortunately, this is what we specialize in at BURG+CO.
Contact our team today for more information about digital marketing or to schedule a complimentary consultation.
