Lead Max, SEO & PPC - A Tactical Comparison

For the purposes of this discussion, we will work from the following definition of “profit”:
Revenue - Expense = Profit

Let’s turn our attention to expanding our understanding of each of the core strategies we have identified and how they relate to matters of profitability. For each, we will ask a simple question: “What impact will this strategy have on the profitability of my organization?”

• PPC Advertising
  • PPC Advertising assumes that the site pages to which traffic is being sent include clear calls to action, user paths, etc. That is, PPC makes sense only if we are driving traffic to a pages that are fertile with the information relevant to the searcher (UPO), plentiful prompts to encourage the desired outcome, and lead capture mechanisms (LCO). Driving traffic to a poorly conceived site, which has not been User Path Optimized or Lead Capture Optimized, misses opportunities. PPC also assumes Best Practices of Lead Management/Sales Processes (CRM) are in place and being followed.
• SEO
  • Search Engline Optimization also assumes a coherent web site experience: A site that is well-constructed, containing worthwhile “arguments” to entice the visitor to the desired outcome (UPO) and that the site is Lead Capture Optimized (LCO). It also assumes Best Practices of Lead Management/Sales Processes are in place and being followed.
• LCO
  • Lead Capture Optimization assumes there is or will eventually be a worthwhile amount of site traffic (SEO and/or PPC). Without traffic or the expectation of eventual traffic to a site via SEO or PPC, there are/will be no visitors to convert no matter whether the site is Optimized for Lead Capture. LCO also assumes Best Practices of Lead Management/Sales Processes (CRM) are in place and being followed.
• UPO
  • User Path Optimization assumes there is or will be worthwhile traffic (PPC/SEO). It assumes proper LCO techniques have also been applied, as there is no reason to drive traffic down a one-way street that dead-ends to no benefit for the company. It also assumes Best Practices of Lead Management/Sales Processes are in place and being followed (CRM).
• Cross Promotion
  • Similarly to PPC and SEO, it assumes a site has been UPOd and LCOd. Again, driving traffic to an unworthy or incoherent site is not at all optimal. It assumes Best Practices of Lead Management/Sales Processes are in place and being followed.

All of the above are inter-related disciplines. Each discipline serves the others. A good way to look at the relationship between each is to think of the adage that “two people working in concert with one another can do the work of three.” Or, “two people working together can do more than two people working independently.”