What is the Difference Between SEO and SEM?
- January 27, 2021
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Table of Contents
“What are SEO and SEM techniques?”
“Are SEO and SEM the same thing?”
Answering all your questions so you can build your brand through online channels that fit perfectly to your business model.
Did you know, Google processes over 3.5 billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year worldwide?
According to Statista, Google had the highest share of 61% of an organic mobile search traffic in 2019.
This shows that Google is undoubtedly dominating the Search Engine Market becoming an Internet Giant with the constant upgradation in technologies and algorithms.
Just imagine your growth rate, once you start ranking at Google. Seems impressive? Well it is. You just need to work on your Digital Marketing strategies to reach your ultimate destination.
Keep reading to uncover which is the best strategy – SEO vs SEM for an exponential online success.
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a practice of optimizing websites in order to gain organic traffic for improving visibility in SERPs. This is one of the most effective ways to bring your brand to the top five results.
However, Google keeps on changing algorithms, and therefore, it is inevitable for SEO Specialists to keep on optimizing the site and work on the latest tactics.
Based on that, you need to assess a plethora of things like Title Tags, Meta Descriptions, Keywords, Link Tags, and others to let Google crawl your website for top ranking. A few of the White Hat SEO Techniques are-
On Page SEO
On Page SEO refers to targeting your customer searches by using the right keywords for each individual page of the website. Some of the On-Page Strategies are-
- Keyword research and placement
- Optimization of Meta Tags
- Content optimization
- URL Optimization
- Internal Links
Off Page SEO
Off Page SEO refers to building the reputation and authority of websites by adding backlinks of high quality or trusted websites. The main objective is to increase the credibility of your site in the eyes of Google. Some of the Off-Page Strategies are-
- Guest Blogging
- Social bookmarking at Reddit, MIX and Digg
- Profile Creation
- Managing local listings and business directory submissions
- Creating Press Release
Technical SEO
- Your website must be mobile-friendly
- Finding and Fixing any Broken Links
- Optimizing internal and external links
- Creating and optimizing XML Sitemap
- Improving the speed of websites
Is SEO important in 2021?
- Conduct Keyword research for the respective product or service
- Search your target audience type and geographic location to display your ad within
- Focus on relevant and interactive content creation inclusive of keywords
- Bid the price to pay for each click on your ad and finally get started
Difference Between SEO and SEM
“SEO vs. SEM: Where Should I Start?”
This is one of the most daunting questions while planning for online marketing. You can check these comparison points and list out your specific business requirements for digital marketing activities.
#1: SEO Vs SEM: Search Results
While searching for any product or service, you must have looked at the top three searches. So, if those search results don’t show “Ad” as designation, then it’s ‘Organic Marketing’. Moreover, SEO doesn’t have any call or site link extensions. Instead, it possesses ‘Featured Snippets’ in search.
On contrary to this, SEM refers to paid ads and therefore, top three search results show designation as “Ad”. Also, it has call extensions or site link extensions to let users reach out to you directly.
#2: SEO Vs SEM: Cost
SEO is prone to organic marketing and organic results. You won’t have to pay when a user clicks on your search results. That’s the bonus point here.
It lets users reach your website organically without paying any single penny. Additionally, did you know, you get free traffic 24*7 and all-time industry recognition?
It costs approximately from $500-$5000/month to do SEO. Reach out to us today to get a free website audit and a price quote.
As discussed, SEM is paid placements and you will be charged each time when a user clicks your ad. Therefore, you need to prepare your budget before conducting any SEM campaigns.
Keep this in mind, that, once you stop an ad, your target disappears. Moreover, getting search space has become quite competitive and thus, you need to invest in it considerably to post your ad on a relevant website.
How much does SEM cost?
On an average, small and medium sized businesses spend nearly $9000 to $10,000 per month including the cost of running a campaign and ad management.
#3: SEO Vs SEM: Risk FactorsSEO
Which is the greatest risk for SEM? Advertising Costs.
As you know, cost per click keeps on hiking year by year and so if you are totally dependent on the paid results, this could be a serious hassle for your business.
Because, when a cost per click shoots beyond the accepted level, you have to increase the price that brings a negative correlation with the sales figures and profit margin.
#4: SEO Vs SEM: Results
With organic marketing, you cannot find an instant result. It takes time to index and rank your site and make your brand reach to the top since it is based on long term positions.
Though SEO gives limited opportunities to make changes and monitor the impact. It has a higher return on investment compared to other tactics. This gives you brand exposure all day, all night because the internet never sleeps.
The impact of SEM is immediate. You can start putting your ads in front of your target audiences and simultaneously increase the visibility of your brand. Therefore, experts believe that SEM is a great strategy for testing since you can anytime turn on or turn off your paid ads.
Here, you can quickly adjust your audience, revise the geographical location, improvise the landing page to test, and try any new methodologies.
Various marketers often use tactics of SEO while running an ad campaign to maximize its reach and frequency and manage the dwelling time per user.
For instance, SEO focuses upon keyword strategy, content creation, optimizing URL, and other things to target potential buyers. So, yes, SEO is a part of SEM.
SEO or SEM: Which is Better?
SEO and SEM both offer immeasurable benefits that your business shouldn’t ignore. They give voice to your brand and an opportunity to unleash its online presence remarkably.
So, are you looking for a cost effective strategy? Ready to wait for at least three months to generate leads and traffic? Aiming for zero ads spend? Then SEO could be ideal for you.
Do you want an immediate search engine present? And have enough budget to manage ads on a weekly basis? Then go for SEM.
So, it depends on your marketing goals and objective for conducting advertising campaigns and preparing marketing plans. But, still, not sure, where to start with – SEM or SEO?
Call us today at 315-543-6600 to plan your next SEO and SEM campaign, full of opportunities!
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