When starting a business, digital marketing strategies are always part of the equation. You need to constantly think of ways to boost traffic and engagement to your website.
SEO and SEM are common terms you’ll hear to grow your business, but they are entirely different. In this SEO vs. SEM guide, discover what they are, how they differ, and what you need for your business.
SEO Explained
SEO or search engine optimization utilizes strategies to target traffic to your website. It does this through organic rankings. It includes creating valuable content, using backlinks, and utilizing specific keywords.
With SEO, you don’t need to pay to rank well in search engines. Search Engine Optimization has four main steps:
- Keyword Research
- On-page SEO
- Off-page SEO
- Technical SEO
Keyword Research
Before creating your content, you must know the valuable keywords you should incorporate. These keywords are the most common words or phrases your target audience search for.
Several keyword research tools are now available. And it’s now easy to identify and understand the phrases you should use.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO is basing your content on what your target audience wants to see. You can do this by typing your targetted keywords on search engines. This helps you identify the type of content the people in your niche are curious about.
And when you give the searchers what they want, you align your content with their search intent. Aside from search intent, the following are also relevant factors of on-page SEO:
- Creating a compelling title
- Knowing where to place keywords strategically
- Optimizing images you include
- Utilizing descriptive URLs
Off-page SEO
Off-page or off-site SEO are the other measures you undertake outside your website. The things you do help search engines rank your page higher.
The most effective way for off-page SEO is to build good quality backlinks with your content. In fact, backlinks are part of the top ranking factors of Google. Aside from backlinks, testimonials and reviews are also essential off-page SEO factors.
Technical SEO
There are three essential factors of SEO: find, crawl, and index. Search engines should be able to do all these three for your site to rank well.
Why SEO Matters
SEO is widely accessible because it’s free. Anyone can utilize it to boost the brand’s visibility and traffic. When you understand SEO, it can generate long-term success. Here are the top benefits of SEO:
You Can Get More Customers
More than 50% of web traffic is from organic search, and most online marketers prove that most of their leads are from SEO-engaged consumers.
This is because users are using search engines to search for a solution. And your brand fulfills the need by landing on the engines’ top results.
We know that ranking on top is what every marketer needs. Moreover, ranking on top can double a brand’s click-through rate. And with a high ranking, you can attract more customers.
Also, landing on the first page of search engines makes your site a trustworthy and authoritative resource. And you also make your brand more visible to more people online.
Focusing on User Experience
SEO works because it optimizes the user experience. It focuses on what customers want because it’s unpaid and organic.
And because of this, using SEO for your brand prioritizes what your audiences need. This helps make your customers stay loyal to your business. The higher you rank, the more new people will visit your website. And this also increases your site’s authority.
It’s Free
SEO is unpaid. This makes it accessible to every online marketer there is. It also works when you’re on a budget. You can hire an SEO specialist, which won’t cost you that much.
What’s even better is that it can generate good value for your brand regardless that it’s unpaid. There’s no cost to utilizing it to improve your search rankings. All it takes are your time, dedication, and a few marketing analyses, and you’re good to go.
SEM Explained
SEM or search engine marketing is the exact opposite. While it also helps boost your marketing strategies, it’s not free. You need to buy sponsored or paid ad listings.
SEM is also the same as PPC (Pay per click) or paid search. Several PPC platforms are available, but Google Ads is the most famous option.
Through SEM, brands gain visibility in various search engines. It also helps drive the right traffic to your site without waiting. And because it’s paid to advertise, you should utilize dynamic and strong SEM strategies. It’s the only way to get your ROI back.
What Are Ad Auctions?
Ad auctions serve as the backbone of SEM on Google. Whenever users search for a particular word or phrase on Google, ad auctions occur.
Various website owners can participate in ad auctions when they bid on specific keywords. If those keywords are part of what the user searches for, the ads of website owners enter the auction.
But here’s the thing: Google will not display all the ads related to those keywords. Two main factors are essential: quality score and maximum bid.
- Quality score: Ad rank or the overall advertisement quality. Google determines this.
- Maximum bid: the highest amount paid by a website owner for a click
Why SEM Matters
Even when you’re paying for SEM, it brings your business more benefits than you know. Here are the top reasons why SEM matters.
You Can Reach Potential Clients Faster
SEM shows up quicker results than SEO. With the right ads, your brand gets the visibility you desire for your products or services in no time.
Compared to SEO, you can reach your brand’s target customers easier and faster.
Utilize Geo-Targeting with Ads
Geo-targeting is a great strategy to target people within your location. And SEM can give you that advantage.
With SEM, you can generate ads and use various languages. Moreover, you can also specify the location you want your ads to appear. This includes getting more specific with the country, region, and city.
You Can Target The Right Users
SEM lets ads appear depending on the user’s search intentions. This means your ads will only appear to users who searched for keywords related to your brand.
So, what’s the secret to successful SEM? It’s using the right keywords. Knowing which keywords to use will create optimized ads that interest users and turn them into potential clients.
So, What’s The Difference Between SEO and SEM?
SEO and SEM confuse marketers because they are both efficient marketing strategies for your business. Both strategies boost traffic to your site by leveraging search engines. Other than that, they’re different entities.
And now that you have a brief overview of the two, let’s look into the aspects where they differ.
The Cost
SEO and SEM have different costs, and it depends on the following major factors:
- Scale
- Aggressiveness
- Industry
Don’t forget that both marketing strategies also have implementation costs that could affect your ROI. But generally, because SEO is organic results and SEM is paid search, SEM would cost more.
With SEO, you only need to consider keyword research tools or an SEO specialist. While these are not mandatory, they can help you achieve better search engine rankings.
The Time To Yield Results
Another main difference between SEO and SEM is the time to yield results. Expect traffic to your website faster with SEM. On the other hand, SEO can take a few months before you achieve successful traffic gains.
This is also where you need to choose which is better. For instance, if you need good traffic for users to see your brand’s seasonal event, SEM is a better option.
But if you want to create content optimized with high-ranking keywords your readers can read for years, SEO is what you need.
Long-Term Value To Your Site
SEO is your only choice if you want long-term value for your site. As long as you continue to make relevant content with optimized keywords, you’re in it for the long run. Expect your site to remain number one on search engines.
Your ranking becomes self-sustaining when your site ranks in the first three positions. Organic traffic attracts more backlinks which can help improve your rank further.
On the other hand, SEM only brings quick transactional gains. And because it’s paid ads, the website lead and traffic stop when the ad campaign ceases.
Testing Opportunities
Because SEO takes time to generate traffic to your site, testing strategies and gaining insights can take time. But it’s different with SEM. Everything is fast-paced, so it’s the ideal marketing vehicle when you want quick testing opportunities.
SEM allows you to test ad copies, keywords, and bidding strategies faster than SEO. This means improving your landing pages is easier depending on the data you get.
Real Estate on SERP
SEO is the best option to get more SERP real estate. This includes the following factors:
- Map listings
- Featured snippets
- Links on People Also Ask
- Knowledge graphs
- Interesting finds
- Video or image carousels
Utilizing these digital assets can let you occupy more listings on search results. It’s more limited with SEM. SEM only offers extensions, site links, and ad positions.
To make it easier to understand, SEO allows you to dominate the entire search results page.
SEO and SEM: Your Keys to Successful Digital Marketing
SEO and SEM are marketing strategies that can bring several benefits to your business. When you know how to utilize both, you get the visibility and traffic you desire for your brand.
SEO is the best bet if you want long-term value for your site. But if you want quick results and visibility for a promotional event, SEM is the better option. Ultimately, deciding which to use depends on your business goals for your brand’s success.
If you need high-quality and relevant content for your brand, CJ Content Co is what you’re looking for. Contact them today to know more.