Should I promote my business website with PPC ads or probably get SEO services organically?

That's a very disputable issue, not only because the question "What's better for business site – to initiate PPC ads campaign or get SEO services instead?" is frequently asked by many ecommerce entrepreneurs, but for a critical effect on the company's overall income-generating potential that can be affected by one of these two diametrically opposite approaches to Digital Marketing, which are actually antipodal by nature. Some people with big-time experience in the industry say that organic search always gives a higher amount of web traffic, in line with apparently lower cost per lead, as well as definitely consistent and long-lasting results, rather than marketing strategy based on paid search. At the same time, however, many marketing experts believe that PPC ads can often become more reasonable solution than traditional SEO handled organically – most commonly, when a new project needs an instant track to search marketing, or just has a hard time to get started with SEO (as it often happens with the startup projects, I should admit). 

Paid Search vs. Organic SEO

So, where lies the truth? I personally believe that this is not a question with a simple general answer – as every time it will be determined by the current business situation, available marketing budget, as well as current objectives and global goals. That being said, below I'm going to quickly outline the major benefits & the weakest spots of paid/organic search. Ultimately, to give you a full picture of the situation and take a well-informed decision to that point. So, let's delve.

Search Engine Optimization

When you decide to get SEO services organically, then you can expect these general improvements and the following potential consequences:

• Strategic Advantage – given that your ranking gains (otherwise, online visibility) in Google's organic search listing won't be suddenly dropped to nothing, persistent and long-lasting marketing progress of free SEO gives a must-winning advantage over PPC ads.
• Gradual Progress – at the same time, however, everyone who decided to get SEO services organically can reasonably rely only on gradual progress. So, any measurable effect will be achieved over time (most commonly within 3-6 months after employing).
• Better ROI – when you get organic SEO services, there will be the highest possible level of return on investment (general estimate says it can reach up to 275%). Although, as I already stated, there is an extended time lag before you will see any actual gains.

Pay-Per-Click Ads

As for laser-targeted paid search promotion, it will definitely have not so great CTR-generating potential, as well as the ability to build a strong business reputation and user trust over time. 

Nevertheless, paid search promotion has its own unique features – so, we should consider at least the following critical advantages of PPC ads against organic SEO:

• Higher Position – above-the-fold location in Google’s SERPs is clearly seen and marked as “sponsored ads” section.
• Precise Focus – given that PPC ads are tailored to a specific target audience, it delivers a potentially higher rate of conversions, rather than traditional SEO. 
• Visual Advertising – with Google’s visual shopping option, the user will explicitly see what’s being clicked on. And from the viewpoint of CTR-generating potential, this makes PPC ads a winner in this round. That’s it.