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I spoke to a good search engine marketing friend of mine the other day, in which we discussed the pro’s and con’s of search engine optimization (SEO) vs. pay per click advertising (PPC.) But, first I want to tell you who won, which was me of on my soap box of PPC course…just kidding. We both presented great arguments, but in the end I think we both came out a little wiser.

According to a recent 2007 SEMPO survey, most search engine marketing firms report that a greater portion of their revenue comes from SEO vs. PPC. I found this extremely interesting due to the increasingly high-emphasis of building link popularity when it comes to achieving high SERPS in SEO campaigns. Regardless of whether you agree with the above statistic or not, building great quality link popularity to boost rankings can take time when you are going after highly competitive keyword phrases. And when you are all done trying to sell to the CEO on the benefits of all these great linking efforts…the CFO usually would like to have a word with you. Plus, (as Rodney Dangerfield would say) I’m not sure you’re totally familiar you runs that department, but I assure you it isn’t the boy scouts!

Making the connection and trying to prove immediate value for SEO can be a difficult game when there is high money at stake. In addition, ROI is of the utmost importance proving your firms value which is usually tied to a short window. If you are unable to measure, deliver, or maintain a healthy ROI (which is typically difficult for any medium at startup due to sunk costs), most companies will turn their head to what they know best.

Sure, immediate on-page optimization can deliver immediate results for some company rosy scenarios, but most online business models and websites I run across aren’t that easy. There are typically many fundamental issues with the corporate website that will prove to deliver poor results unless significant attention is turned to fixing the website to make it conversion friendly. This usually ends up in a redesign or a refresh that can delay results even further, which makes achieving the desired goal even longer to attain. A tough sell for most companies at a high level.

Lastly, measuring ROI for SEO is more difficult due to the benchmarking (and agreeing among internal resources) required to do it effectively, where pay per click advertising is relatively straightforward due to the known advertising expenditure that can’t be argued. Its a straight input output game as they say. Additionally, once real ROI is achieved through paid search, it provides a guided roadway for search engine optimization efforts, where the guessing game has been taken out of the question.

In reality, both are really important and should be considered equally if adequate resources exist. However, i think the above presents a strong argument for gaining immediate “honeymoon” trust, is easier to measure, and will guide a path for continued success.