In-Brief: SEO vs SEM, Discover the Difference

First and foremost let's define SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) respectively, before explaining how to successfully incorporate them into your marketing strategy. SEO and SEM share the common objective of driving high-quality traffic to a website by increasing the visibility of a website on search engine results pages (SERPs). 

So What Exactly is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization is concerned with conducting activities that aim to enhance a website's visibility on free, organic search result pages. To further understand SEO, it’s important to understand a little about the workings of search engines, such as Google and Bing. 

Search engines use ‘crawlers’ to periodically assess website content, resulting in a huge index of websites, which search engines rely on to produce results from a search query. The order in which a website appears in search engine result pages (SERPs), is determined by numerous factors including relevance, usefulness and authority, all of which are determined by search engines after crawling a website’s content.

How is SEM Different to SEO?

In the past, SEO was considered a component of Search Engine Marketing but nowadays that’s not the case. SEM is geared towards paid search results whereas SEO focuses on organic search. SEM is sometimes referred to as Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising, as advertising organizations pay a fee each time an individual clicks an ad. 

Advertisers select the keywords and phrases that they wish their ads to appear for, along with the maximum amount (bid) that they’re willing to spend per ad click. The ad platform (usually Google Ads or Bing Ads) displays ads based on a combination of the advertiser's bid and a quality score which is assigned to each ad. 

Should I use SEO or SEM?

Now that’s the burning question and the answer depends on the goals and type of business that you’re marketing. SEO is a fundamental element of building a successful website and while it doesn’t provide overnight growth, it does provide increased visibility over time and with effective upkeep and maintenance, can result in more qualified website traffic for years to come. 

On the other hand, SEM can provide almost instantaneous results. If your business is new or you’re launching a new product, SEM may be the best option as campaign results happen fast, however, it’s important to ensure that your ad leads to actual conversions (not just clicks) to make sure you’re getting enough bang for your buck.

What about a Strategy that Combines both SEO and SEM?

Now, this is an effective approach for driving results! With effective SEO, you may even pay less per click, as your quality score is increased, making your SEM strategy more gainful and cost-effective.

Read the full Blog Now to discover the 5 Vital Steps for successfully combining your SEO and SEM strategies to increase traffic to your website, enhance engagement and ultimately drive conversions.