Lots of commentators, pundits and 'experts' on the internet would have you believe that search engine optimization (SEO) does not cost anything. However this is not true. Whilst SEO need not be expensive, putting SEO into action correctly will consume time and effort on your part. That said, SEO done right will give much greater benefits, that last much longer term than you could acheive by alternative search engine marketing (SEM) and other online advertising techniques.

When your site is receiving 'free' hits and traffic from organic search engine results, and links on other websites, there is less need (and in some cases no need) to spend additional dollars on pay per click ads. SEO done correctly therefore, will save your company money. PPC and other marketing campaigns will usually work only whilst you are paying for them. SEO on the other hand, works long after you stop spending on it, as long as it is content-centric SEO.

For many sites on tight budgets (isn't that all of them?), correct and effective SEO can make the difference between success and failure. Because of this, it really is worth spending a bit of time and effort in the research and development stages of your website, to build SEO visibility into the fabric of the site's design and architecture. This will only pay dividends in the long term.

Adopting SEO from the start and as a core component of your internet marketing strategy will make many other things easier in the future. When your web designers, your IT people, and your marketing department include SEO in all their decision making, the pay off you will get from SEO will be far more than if you only try and implement SEO as an afterthought.

Following is a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of PPC and other search engine marketing efforts.

PPC Advantages:

* Can provide instant traffic from the time you launch the campaign

* Is easier to implement, with most search engines providing you tools

* Is easier to manage because you can just turn it off and on

PPC Disadvantages:

* Can become very expensive very quickly, especially for expensive/high traffic keywords with low conversion rates

* In placements, the top positions will be allocated to those advertisers paying the most

* There is lower trust in PPC compared to organic results

* Once you stop your ads, the visitors stop coming

SEO Advantages:

* Can be far cheaper to start

* The benefits are longer lasting and sustainable

* Helps to build trust for your website and brand

* The click through rate is often higher than with PPC

* The growth in your website traffic will be more natural, and reliant on your site's content

SEO Disadvantages:

* Achieving the initial results can take a bit of time

* It takes brain power, and effort to do it right

* It comes with no guarantees.

Whilst it is true that SEO comes with no guarantees on your search engine placements, all SEO effort can increase your rankings, making certain that you get more traffic than you would have otherwise. Finally, SEO has worked for clients time and time again, which cannot be said for most other internet marketing strategies being sold on the internet..

James Winsoar is a Budget SEO Consultant in the UK specialising in both on-page and off-page search engine optimisation. He can help to improve your visibility online. Visit JW Enterprises at http://www.jw-enterprises.co.uk/ or call the SEO hotline on 0115 9400 899.