Introduction:
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) are two distinct strategies for digital marketing. They are used to increase online visibility and drive more traffic to a website but by using different mechanisms.
Since 81% of the world’s consumers do online search before making any purchase, a strong and influential presence in search engines result pages (SERPs) is necessary. Every online business that wants to drive more conversions from search traffic, SEO and SEM are important.
But, what are SEO and SEM and how do they work? In this article, we’ll learn what these strategies refer to, their differences and how can they be used together as a mean to gain more traffic and leads through your website.
What is SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?
SEO stands for ‘search engine optimization’. It is the name given to the process of optimizing a website, its pages and content so that its visibility increases across the search engines like Bing, Google, Yahoo! etc to gain more traffic.
Main Features:
- SEO increases a website’s traffic by improving the quality and relevance of its content to search keywords and phrases that users write in search bars to find anything they need.
- The focus of SEO is on optimizing a website’s structure, content and technical configuration to rank it better (higher) in organic (non-paid) search results.
- SEO is accomplished by utilizing techniques such as link building, on-page optimization, keyword research, mobile friendliness and optimized content creation.
- The purpose of SEO is to elevate rank in organic search engine results and get sustainable, long-term traffic.
What Is SEM (Search Engine Marketing)?
SEM stands for ‘search engine marketing’. It is a kind of digital marketing that uses paid advertising to improve the visibility of a website’s listings to gain more traffic.
Main Features:
- The aim of SEM is to increase traffic and drive leads and sales through targeted and paid ads.
- The focus of SEM is on using paid advertising mode to prop up a website in search engine results pages (SERPs).
- SEM works by managing and creating paid search campaigns such as ad groups and keywords.
- The main purpose of SEM is to quickly get traffic, generate leads, and increase conversions in a short span, through paid advertisement.
Major Differences:
- SEO is a long-term strategy, whereas SEM gives quicker results.
- SEO works on improving organic rankings, where as SEM functions on paid advertising.
- SEO attracts organic traffic, whereas SEM focuses on paid traffic.
Key Takeaways:
In short, SEO tends to optimize the website to improve organic visibility for search engines, while SEM utilizes paid advertisement to generate leads and attract immediate traffic. Both strategies endorse each other and work in harmony to accomplish comprehensive digital marketing goals.
For further SEO related articles, click below:
Is SEO for Small Business?
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SEO Vs SEM: Do Digital Marketers Need Both?
Both SEO and SEM are dependent on online search engines results and when used correctly, create a more effective and stronger online presence that can steer you ahead in the search engine rank race.
But when it comes to choosing one that is best for your business goals and that will help to create a successful digital marketing plan for the business, it becomes quite challenging. Which one should be chosen; SEO or SEM?
The answer to this is both!
SEO and SEM work best when used in combination. They do not operate in isolation. You cannot choose one and ignore the other. Neither one of them can be termed more effective than the other.
As a matter of fact, both should be subsumed under the same umbrella where both work jointly to boost visibility, increase traffic and drive conversion from search engines. Cooperatively, they can open up a lot of opportunities for the business to drive growth.
Integrating SEM and SEO Together:
SEM and SEO work like two pods in the pea when used in combination. Instead of perceiving SEO and SEM as rivaling marketing approaches, it is the marketer’s skill to use them together is ways that unfold new and maximum traffic driving opportunities.
With a little effort and fine coordination, SEM campaigns can be directed in ways to leverage long-term SEO results, and proficient SEO strategies can be used to reinforce future SEM campaigns.
How SEO and SEM Work Together?
How to integrate SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) together in ways to create a competent digital marketing strategy that will attract both organic and paid traffic to a website? Here’s how it happens:
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Technical Optimization:
SEO requires websites to be technically optimized on various aspects such as site speed, interactive tools, mobile-friendliness, etc. to make sure that a website is search engine and user friendly. All of these aspects also benefit SEM campaigns because they improve ad click-through rates and conversion.
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Keyword Research:
Search keywords and phrases play an important part in determining a website’s search engine ranking. Both SEM and SEO depend on relevant search terms and phrases to be found by search engines. SEO uses these keywords to generate relevant and useful content while SEM needs it to target paid ads. Thus, SEM and SEO both benefit from the same, adequate search terms and work in alignment.
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Link Building:
SEO’s link building efforts, the quality and quantity of its link’s profile increase a website’s authority in its respective field. It also makes websites more credible and trustworthy for SEM ads and thus improves their visibility.
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Valuable Content Creation:
A content that is useful, informative, concise and interesting, capture’s and retains users’ attention. A content (blog posts, images, videos, articles etc) that is optimized for search engines is also beneficial for SEM campaigns. It supports SEM by providing relevant and useful landing pages for paid ads.
To see how effective content creation is for SEO, go through these articles:
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Data Sharing:
Data that is useful and needed for SEO is the same required for successful SEM. So, SEM and SEO professionals can collectively find, create and share data (including keyword performance, content creation and user behavior) to optimize both strategies simultaneously.
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Budget Allocation:
SEO and SEM both complement same goals and somewhat similar procedures, (such as discussed above). Therefore, budget can be fairly distributed between the two strategies depending on their respective needs, target audience behavior and business goals.
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Brand Awareness:
A well planned and effectively implemented SEO strategy can greatly develop brand repute and authority ultimately benefiting SEM and vice versa. Similarly, paid ads can reciprocate the effect for SEO including spreading brand awareness, driving more organic searches and leads for SEO.
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Conversion Optimization:
Both SEO and SEM aim to ultimately drive conversions for the website through their joint efforts. SEO does so by focusing on organic conversions, while SEM helps by paid conversions.
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Powerful Synergy:
SEO and SEM combined together create a powerful synergy for enhancing visibility, drive traffic, boost conversions, and increase revenue which cannot be achieved to great extent by using one strategy alone.
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Tracking and Performance Analysis:
Google Analytics provide tracking tools to both SEO and SEM to measure their effectiveness and performance by analyzing data and help further optimize the strategies.
In short, by uniting SEO and SEM, a robust digital marketing strategy can be created that can be helpful in maximizing online visibility, luring more traffic and conversions consequently growing the business.
SEO and SEM; Future Prospects:
SEO and SEM are not the ultimate solutions for your digital marketing needs. Strategies and goals continue to shift as major search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo!) continually change their parameters for rankings.
Changing customer preferences and innovative technologies, especially the advent of AI bots is dramatically changing the scope of digital marketing needs. For this reason, it’s tricky to predict what’s going to get on peak and what will go down in future in terms of search engine marketing.
However, there are some general guidelines and likely directions that are supposed to help you survive in future.
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Mobile Device Friendliness:
The use of mobile and smart phone devices is not going anywhere soon. More than 90% of consumers use websites and social media platforms using mobile device and smart phones. Mobile phone friendliness is the pivotal point upon which the future digital technologies will rely a lot.
Google’s Accelerated Mobile Project (AMP) is likely to get extreme popularity. This project is about creating a huge open source library that will provide developers extensive opportunities to create quick and smooth, mobile-friendly web pages.
This is one area will be on rise and the death of slow-loading pages that lower ranking. So this aspect must be continually taken into account while developing SEO and SEM strategies in future.
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Friendly UX:
Only user friendly sites survive. Websites that are too slow, or boring or illegible are immediately left by users. And that is going to continue to happen even more as better engaging and user friendly features pour in.
UX (user experience) will continue to be an important element of SEO. So, future SEO and SEM strategies should be designed keeping it in mind. This is a long lasting trend and one that makes sense because search engines wants to reward and rank the most user-friendly sites.
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Advent of AI Bots:
AI (Artificial Intelligence) and AI bots are increasingly becoming more involved in SEO, digital marketing and other search activities. This will soon change the nature and mechanism of user searches and allow to create more targeted ads for SEM.
To know more about AI bots and their functions, read below for fruitful information.
How to Make Money Online through Al Bots in 2023?
Conclusion:
SEO refers to getting website visibility and traffic through organic ways whereas SEM dos so by using paid ads. The goal is same for both the strategies and both complement each other in many ways. Paid and organic search efforts work side by side to build a stronger and powerful online presence for your business.
Marketers and strategy planners need to have a good grasp on how SEO and SEM work in today’s current digital atmosphere to maximize the benefit out of them. Along with that, they should also be able to look at how both will change in near future as everything continues to rely more on technology. Understanding and operating both in synchronization is crucial business’ success.