Pros and cons of social ads vs. paid ads on Google, organic traffic and other channels
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 5:20 am
BlogMeter 's research "Italians and Social Media", now in its sixth edition, provides us with some food for thought: YouTube is confirmed as the most used social network by Italians. Interesting growths for LinkedIn , Twitch and Telegram . Instagram and TikTok confirm their position. Twitch, among other things, is the best among the examples of digital marketing strategies that start from a well-defined niche.
To the question "Which of these social networks are you registered to and use regularly?" the 1003 interviewees, residents in Italy, aged between 15 and 64, registered to at least one social network, answered:
YouTube (92%)
Facebook (88%)
Instagram (79%)
Tripadvisor (59%)
LinkedIn (49%)
Twitter (48%)
Pinterest (47%)
TikTok (40%)
Twitch (24%)
Snapchat (20%)
Reddit (16%)
Tinder (12%)
OnlyFans (9%)
Patreon (9%)
Clubhouse (7%)
Maybe this ranking won't surprise you that much and you probably don't understand the connection with the topic of this article: why it's risky to have only one traffic channel.
Let me give you an example: MySpace is not listed in the ranking . It is also possible that you have never heard of it.
Here is a brief history of what we can call “ the father of all social networks ”:
Born in 2003, the platform offered phone numbers in the philippines its users the possibility of sharing photos, music, videos and blogs with their contacts. There were 2 types of profiles: a personal one and an artist one. With the latter you had the possibility of sharing your musical productions.
In 2005 it was bought by Rupert Murdoch for 580 million dollars.
In 2008 it reaches its peak, with 100 million monthly users. The most visited site in the United States.
2011 was the year that began its decline, caused largely by a lack of updates to the platform, failed attempts to modernize it, and even the inadvertent deletion of 12 years of music.
Pros and cons of social ads vs. paid ads on Google, organic traffic and other channels
organic traffic vs. paid ads
As you may have guessed, relying on a single traffic channel, such as, for example, the now defunct MySpace, is a risk you cannot take.
Megan Breakenridge wrote an interesting article (in English) about the pros and cons of the 4 different categories of traffic channels in the PESO model.
Paid traffic (ads, listings, etc.). Pros: This traffic channel is scalable: the more you spend, the more coverage you get. It gives you exposure you wouldn't otherwise get. Cons: The price you pay can vary greatly, you can't fully know the real quality of the clicks you receive, and finally, if you stop paying, everything stops.
Earned traffic (shares, endorsements, links to your site, etc.). Pros: Increases the public's consideration of you and also improves your positioning in search engines. Cons: No matter how hard you try to promote yourself, it is not at all a given that you will receive responses or certificates of merit.
Shared traffic (organic post reach, SEO, etc.) Pros: Organic content (that appears in your social feed, or under Google paid ads) is much more likely to be trusted and clicked on. Cons: It’s hard to predict what your audience will like, comment on, and share. SEO requires knowledge of Google’s algorithms and a lot of time before it can produce results.
Owned traffic (your followers, regular blog readers, etc.). Pros: It is your long-term asset. As long as your content remains relevant, your audience will continue to follow you. Cons: It takes time to build a loyal and engaged audience. Without any web marketing efforts, it can be almost impossible.
To the question "Which of these social networks are you registered to and use regularly?" the 1003 interviewees, residents in Italy, aged between 15 and 64, registered to at least one social network, answered:
YouTube (92%)
Facebook (88%)
Instagram (79%)
Tripadvisor (59%)
LinkedIn (49%)
Twitter (48%)
Pinterest (47%)
TikTok (40%)
Twitch (24%)
Snapchat (20%)
Reddit (16%)
Tinder (12%)
OnlyFans (9%)
Patreon (9%)
Clubhouse (7%)
Maybe this ranking won't surprise you that much and you probably don't understand the connection with the topic of this article: why it's risky to have only one traffic channel.
Let me give you an example: MySpace is not listed in the ranking . It is also possible that you have never heard of it.
Here is a brief history of what we can call “ the father of all social networks ”:
Born in 2003, the platform offered phone numbers in the philippines its users the possibility of sharing photos, music, videos and blogs with their contacts. There were 2 types of profiles: a personal one and an artist one. With the latter you had the possibility of sharing your musical productions.
In 2005 it was bought by Rupert Murdoch for 580 million dollars.
In 2008 it reaches its peak, with 100 million monthly users. The most visited site in the United States.
2011 was the year that began its decline, caused largely by a lack of updates to the platform, failed attempts to modernize it, and even the inadvertent deletion of 12 years of music.
Pros and cons of social ads vs. paid ads on Google, organic traffic and other channels
organic traffic vs. paid ads
As you may have guessed, relying on a single traffic channel, such as, for example, the now defunct MySpace, is a risk you cannot take.
Megan Breakenridge wrote an interesting article (in English) about the pros and cons of the 4 different categories of traffic channels in the PESO model.
Paid traffic (ads, listings, etc.). Pros: This traffic channel is scalable: the more you spend, the more coverage you get. It gives you exposure you wouldn't otherwise get. Cons: The price you pay can vary greatly, you can't fully know the real quality of the clicks you receive, and finally, if you stop paying, everything stops.
Earned traffic (shares, endorsements, links to your site, etc.). Pros: Increases the public's consideration of you and also improves your positioning in search engines. Cons: No matter how hard you try to promote yourself, it is not at all a given that you will receive responses or certificates of merit.
Shared traffic (organic post reach, SEO, etc.) Pros: Organic content (that appears in your social feed, or under Google paid ads) is much more likely to be trusted and clicked on. Cons: It’s hard to predict what your audience will like, comment on, and share. SEO requires knowledge of Google’s algorithms and a lot of time before it can produce results.
Owned traffic (your followers, regular blog readers, etc.). Pros: It is your long-term asset. As long as your content remains relevant, your audience will continue to follow you. Cons: It takes time to build a loyal and engaged audience. Without any web marketing efforts, it can be almost impossible.