Main differences of SEM (search engine marketing) and SEO (search engine optimization)
Promoting your website to search engines can be achieved with two different approaches: Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
More specifically, SEM is a method of paid advertising where you place your website at the top of search engine results. In essence, you pay for every click you receive (pay-per-click or PPC). Therefore, your ad appears among the results related to the keywords you select. This method usually provides immediate results, but the costs can be high.
On the other hand, SEO is an approach that improves your website’s visibility in organic search engine results. This happens thanks to optimizing your website based on specific keywords, high quality content and links from other websites. SEO may take longer to deliver results, but it’s more cost-effective since you don’t pay for each click.
How does SEM (search engine marketing) work?
SEM is a method of online promotion. Basically, when you use Search Engine Marketing, you are paying the search engines directly to get your website at the top of their search results.
Specifically, you first select keywords related to your website content and participate in an auction to secure them. Then offer an amount of money for each click you receive. If you manage to beat your competitors in the auction, your ad will appear at the top of the search results based on those keywords. Every time someone clicks on your ad, they will be redirected directly to your website.
How does SEO (Search engine optimization) work?
SEO is your efforts to organically rank your website in search engines. This means that you strive to increase the quality of your website, both in terms of its structure and design, as well as its content. The various SEO techniques include, for example, creating headings and metatags.
However, SEO is not just limited to improving your website. For a SEO strategy to be successful, you must also take other actions. For example, you need to create redirects from other websites and ensure a presence on social media.
If you implement your SEO strategy correctly, your website will appear high in search results and, as a result, you will get more traffic.
SEO vs SEM: Different costs
Implementing a SEO strategy is free, making that an easy priority for you. You are basically optimizing the organic ranking and performance of your website in search engines. On the other hand, SEM is the paid advertisement of your website and each click is charged, making the SEM strategy the more expensive option.
It is important to set a specific budget for SEM and monitor its performance frequently. But before you decide which approach you will choose to promote your business, you should consider that SEO, although less expensive, takes more time to show actual results. So you need to weigh the costs and benefits of each approach.
Both marketing strategies, SEO and SEM, are effective marketing methods, but they target different audiences. For example, SEO is a good choice for businesses that are looking for long-term benefits and want to gain traffic to their website. In contrast, SEM can be used as a short-term solution for immediate promotion and increasing website visibility, which is why it costs more.
SEO vs SEM: When to expect results
The main difference between SEO and SEM is the speed with which they deliver results. SEM offers immediate results, while SEO offers long-term performance.
More specifically, SEM provides quick results, as with paid ads you can get your website to the top of search results instantly. On the contrary, SEO takes more time to affect your website’s organic ranking and to show the improvement in search results.
However, it is important to remember that SEO and SEM are not mutually exclusive. You don’t have to make a choice. You can always use both strategies, depending on your goals and your promotion campaign.
Why you should choose Webed for the SEM and/or SEO of your company
Both SEM and SEO can prove to be equally useful and effective methods for the online promotion of your business. It is important to consider how they can be combined and used appropriately each time, depending on your goals, your budget and the competition in the market.
At Webed, we have the knowledge, experience and expertise to offer you complete digital marketing proposals, tailored to your needs and desires to get your business exactly where you want it.
Our knowledge of SEO and web design enables us to offer you even more extensive solutions in terms of website, content, structure and advertising approach. Contact us today at 21 6070 2930 or find us at Artemidos 1, Glyfada to achieve your every business goal!