Can you help me find the real difference between SEO and SEM for business websites?
Basically, these two concepts are related to the primary ways to online marketing, as both SEO and SEM are used for business website promotion through Google’s SERPs. Though such basic terms are often used interchangeably – most of website owners simply make no difference between SEO and SEM for their business – there are still several key peculiarities and specific qualities to be known by every modern digital marketer or just smart online entrepreneur. And you need to know the real difference between the concept of the Search Engine Optimization and the Search Engine Marketing – at least to be able to determine how to allocate your marketing budget best way that fits your needs and business goals in the longer run. So, below let’s try to figure out what actually makes SEO and SEM for online business.
Basic Optimization for Search
SEO – is focused on gaining free organic web traffic – to be pumped to your web pages directly from Google’s relevant SERPs. That way, your rankings can be improved by applying for specific techniques and strategies aimed at the following:
- Provide easy user navigation through every category/section of the website within just two or three clicks.
- Assure fast page loading speed and proper functionality on different mobile devices, and with various browsers.
- Offering clear benefits and added value to the end user – with the original and well-optimized content of high quality.
Basic Search Marketing
SEM (otherwise, the Search Engine Marketing) – deals mainly with different methods like banner advertising and Pay-Per-Click ads, which are all aimed at increasing the number of unique user visits to a given website. Among the other elements of SEM, PPC advertising via Google AdWords is arguably the most popular one. Here are the primary elements that make all about Search Marketing:
- Creating online promotion campaigns related to keyword-based ads and bidding on top search terms and long-tail expressions frequently used by the searching people.
- Writing clear advertisements and web copy specifically tailored for a given target audience.
- Planning each stage of the marketing budget for ads, in line with keeping track on your progress via monitoring the major metrics like Click-Through Rate, Impressions, average Cost-Per-Click.
SEO vs. SEM for Business Websites
- Conversion – from the viewpoint of conversion-generating potential, SEM definitely has the advantages over SEO. Simply because showing you up at the very top in the “sponsored” search sections will have the users more likely to click on your link, and therefore provide a better chance of being converted.
- Control – given that there is full control over the keyword usage, third-party source targeting, and the overall budget, SEM seems much more welcoming to many website owners.
- Price – and here we’re finally entering a definitely delicate junction. The thing is that SEO is essentially free to use for gaining better prominence in the relevant online search. At the same time, however, SEO has a potential increase in advertising cost as the strongest disadvantage when compared with SEO.
- Durability – while SEO is an ongoing process that gives only gradual increase in traffic/rankings (i.e., search optimization provides equally long-lasting promotion results), SEM will only serve you as long as you’re paying for PPC. That’s it.
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