SEO vs SEM: Which is better for your business?
Online marketing is presented to us in a number of different and unusual ways. SEO and SEM are simply some of the more common and widely used methods of improving traffic via search engines like Google and Bing. Technically, SEO is a form of SEM but we are going to discuss the differences and how they can be used to improve website traffic and drive more online conversions.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
If you’ve read any of our other blogs then you will have an idea of what SEO is, if not, then SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is the process of optimising a website to be better ranked by Google and other search engines in their Search results, you can learn more about it in detail right here.
Website SEO can be improved in a variety of ways on your website as well as outside of your website. Utilising as many SEO methods as possible is the best way get to make sure that Google knows your covering all of the opportunities that it’s offering, this will help you to move up the Search Results ladder.
On-site work will usually consist of optimising Content, Image Tags, Titles, and Meta Data to include your particular focus keyword and help readability for the users finding you. Other on-site SEO methods are a little more technical but if you did mind writing a bit of code then you can optimise your Structured Data and Sitemap which will help you in Google search as well.
Off-site work can take a bit longer, this requires you to obtain links from other trusted websites for the purpose of increasing your backlinking score and site authority, these two factors are big indicators that search engines will use to rank your site up or down.
SEM (Search Engine Marketing)
Search Engine Marketing is more of an umbrella term for online marketing including marketing methods such as SEO, Social Media and PPC (pay per click). SEM is a marketing process in which you strive to improve website traffic via free and paid methods.
PPC or Pay per Click ads is the paid version of SEO in a sense, this is a method Google provides where you select certain keywords and bid for their positions in Google Search, you might recognise these as the like with the green ad sign next to the links (displayed below in yellow).
These PPC ads can be used in Google Search, there is a tonne of statistics that can be found online. Because you will pay for every time someone clicks the link it can be very expensive over time but is very effective to get high and consistent conversion rates. It can be used to get above your opponents in search as well as help you improve your brand recognition as a company as you can display as the first thing that your potential customers will see.
Fact source: Google Adwords
Social media is also a part of SEM, but for the contents of this article, we are not going to go into great detail about it, if you wish to learn more about how Social Media can help you and your business click here. Social Media Optimisation and marketing are a part of SEM because they can be very influential in terms of driving traffic to your website. You can relate your marketing campaigns together to get optimal results if performed correctly.
How can we help?
SEO and SEM are not the easiest marketing strategies to master but anyone can do them, we like to offer the chance for you to create your own campaign but reading our guides and articles to allow you to help your own business. However, if you aren’t finding the results that you wanted, get in touch with us! Our Marketing experts are more than happy to help, Click here.