The Difference Between Digital and Organic Marketing

Advertising used to be as simple as billboards and newspaper ads, but now those things are just the tip of the iceberg. In the age of the internet, digital and organic marketing is king. But what are they, and what’s the difference between the two? Let’s break it down. 

Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is not that different from the print ads of the past. Instead of buying physical ad space, you’re buying digital ad space. This can be on social media, through search engines, and more. One of the most common types of digital marketing is Pay-Per-Click (PPC.)

PPC ads are the top results on a search engine, typically marked with a small “AD” denotation. Not to be confused with Organic SEO, which we’ll talk about later. These paid ads are sold to the highest bidder and cost a set amount of money per click. We’ll talk more about that in the next section. 

PPC ads can be great because keep you and your website or product top of mind.  You can also target particular segments of your intended demographic. 

Other examples of digital marketing are sponsored social media posts, sidebar and banner ads, and pay-per-action ads. Digital Marketing Jobs offer a range of diversity in terms of what one can specialize in. 

Buying Paid Ads 

The process for buying ad words can be through what Google calls an “Adword Auction.” Companies bid on specific search queries in this auction and give a “maximum bid,” which is the most money they are willing to spend per click. This, combined with their “quality score,” which is a score based on the usefulness and relevance of the ad they want to place, becomes the basis of their ad rank. Of the two, the quality score holds more weight, which essentially means that no matter how much money a company may want to throw at Google to place an ad, they will only get a high ranking if the ad itself is good. 

Organic Marketing

Whether talking about food or advertising, organic has the same base meaning: naturally occurring. Organic marketing differs from digital marketing because you cannot buy an organic presence. To have a solid organic presence, you must build a strong brand for yourself or your company. This entails creating a great website full of easy-to-read material, links into and out of your landing pages, and a top-tier user experience. The number one way to build your organic interest is through search engine optimization or SEO. 

SEO can be boiled down to visibility. Using keywords effectively and providing helpful and easy-to-digest information on your site, you improve your SEO and thus become more visible in the public sphere. Unlike the paid ads we discussed before, you cannot buy your spot on a search engine. These spots, which reside below the “AD” listings, are decided solely based on your website’s merits.

Google, and every other search engine, have particular algorithms that determine a website’s SEO standing. The way that information is categorized through search engines is through bots called “crawlers.” These crawlers work their way through your site the same way a consumer might, but all the while, they are indexing the data it finds based on keywords used. Ultimately, this indexed information determines your rank on search engines. The good news is that as long as you stay optimized, you’ll stay in the game. There is no off switch because you are not paying outright for your spot.

Other examples of organic marketing are your company’s social media posts and unpaid blog features on industry sites. 

Setting Up Organic Strategies

By building off of content you may have already had, you are beginning to implement SEO. You want to make sure that the content you are putting out into the world is solid and well researched. A common mistake that companies make is jumping straight to paid advertising, but putting it frankly, what is the point of paying for traffic to a website that isn’t well made? Keeping up with the new algorithms can be time-consuming and require high skills.

Through social media marketing, researching the traffic data of your demographic, and ensuring your site is full of metadata and designed with mobile in mind, you can become a reputable source without spending a dime on advertising. With that said, SEO is a long game, and you won’t see results overnight. Between the crawlers, building up your backlinks, constantly staying up to date with new algorithm rules, and keeping your content fresh and accessible, it takes time. However, with hard work and patience, it can be hugely rewarding and beneficial. 

Drawbacks to Digital and Organic Marketing

While both digital and organic marketing are incredibly valuable in their own ways, they do have drawbacks. It’s important to be aware of the whole picture before trying to implement marketing of any kind. 

Digital Marketing’s biggest drawback that PPC ads cost money whether or not it brings in revenue. Your bill goes up with every click, regardless of if the clicker follows through with a purchase. Additionally, while snagging those top entries on search engine pages can be a real benefit, it can also be a downfall. In our oversaturated market, many consumers completely ignore those first few “AD” results on the sole basis that they are ads. “Ad blindness”  can render your paid ad space useless. 

Organic Marketing’s natural drawback is how long it can take to see results. Further than that, the algorithms that define strong SEO and UX/UI often change. The internet is ever-evolving and growing more intelligent. As the search engines can handle more information, the qualities they’re looking for change. Keeping up with the new algorithms can be time-consuming and require high skills. 

Applying What You’ve Learned

There are many nuances in both types of marketing, and it can be hard to take it all on yourself. Allow us to outline not only the services that Creative Repute offers but a handful of other companies that can help you reach your fullest potential: 

Creative Repute 

Creative Repute is an agency that works tirelessly to help promote and build up transformative brands interested in making the world a better place.

SEO is Creative Repute’s specialty. Examples of their SEO services are as follows: Schema Markup, which is the code that influences the way your website lists entries in Google’s search engine; SEO Content Creation, which goes beyond keywords and includes formatting, meta descriptions, and sourcing backlinks; and Website Speed Optimization, through caching and installing a CDN. 

Creative Repute also offers other services in graphic design, website development, photography, and brand strategy. It is important to note that Creative Repute does not offer Paid Ad assistance (although this may change as we adapt to the needs of our clients). We invite you to check out the below-listed companies that do. 

KSW Social Media Management  

KSW Social Media Management is a Black woman-owned boutique social media management agency. Run by an all-women team, KSW offers social media management, content creation, and branding services. Their most popular social media management package offers complete Facebook and Instagram management, including 5-7 posts per week, comment control and interaction, and audience engagement. 

iPullRank

iPullRank is a digital marketing agency based in New York City. Their motto is to be PROUD of their work, which they show through being Proactive, Reliable, Outstanding, Useful, and Dedicated. Their featured services include audience research, content strategy and marketing, technical SEO, and content engineering. iPullRank believes that good is never good enough, so they invite you to expect perfection.

Recap of Differences Between Digital and Organic Marketing

To review, the most significant difference between digital and organic media is nuance. You can choose to pay for ads if your goal is to generate brand awareness aggressively, or you can finesse your search engine optimization to improve your overall reliability rating. There’s absolutely no correct answer on which type of marketing is better, and there are definite benefits and drawbacks to both. Find what works for you by visiting creativerepute.com/request-a-quote for a free consultation, and remember that Creative Repute is here for you for all of your SEO needs.