Many of us think that search engine marketing (SEM) or paid search advertising and search engine optimization (SEO) are the same thing.
But are they the same?
they are not
SEM is basically a type of internet marketing.
Here, you promote a website by increasing its visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs), mainly through paid search or advertising.
SEO, on the other hand, is the optimization of pages through organic and non-paid methods, through content and promotions on social networks.
But we’ll talk about the difference, in detail, later.
Let’s find out what SEM is first!
It is the process of gaining traffic and visibility from search engines, both through paid and unpaid efforts.
Boost and improve search engine reach so you get more customers, at the right time, in the right place.
Search engine marketing covers:
A. SEO: This helps you get traffic through free or unpaid listings. It works on website content and site architecture, and improves rankings on the SERPs to boost pay-per-click (PPC) listings.
B. SEM: For this you have to buy traffic through paid search listings.
SEM is also called:
A. Paid Search Ads
B. Paid Advertising
c.PPC (Pay Per Click)
Although Google Ads is the most popular and widely used paid search tool, it will help your internet marketing even more if you use Bing or Yahoo as well.
SEO and SEM: Which is better?
Going back to the differences, the key difference between the two is that SEO is simply a component of SEM. In addition to SEO, SEM includes many other search marketing strategies, such as PPC and Social Media Marketing (SMM).
While SEO is increasing the number of visitors to the website, making the site rank high on search engines, SEM is internet marketing that increases the visibility of a site through organic search engine results. search and advertising.
An additional key difference between the two: with SEO you will have to be patient and wait for the results; With PPC, you can expect instant results.
Do not use the terms SEO and SEM interchangeably.
The reason: Although they work side by side, they are anything but the same term.
SEO or SEM: Which marketing tactic is better?
According to some of those in the know, if we compare the two, organic SEO has an advantage.
However, which one performs better may depend on your overall digital marketing goals.
SEM cannot thrive without organic SEO.
Still, PPC (a component of SEM) may make more sense, versus SEO in many specific cases.
For example, if you’re launching a site for the first time and want to get high visibility all at once, start a PPC campaign. It will take less time, vis-à-vis SEO.
Still, it would not be a good idea to focus ONLY on PPC and completely ignore SEO.
Granted organic SEO may take longer to produce results. But it will eventually cost less, even if you’ll be able to establish search credibility that you might not get with PPC.
If your websites rank high in the organic results for your target keywords, you’ll get free 24/7 traffic, industry recognition, and enjoy all the benefits of SEO.
Plus, with more appearances in search organically, you’ll enjoy the option to focus your SEM efforts on other keywords to broaden your reach.
Effective SEO will also make your site fast and easy to use.
What swings the pendulum towards SEO even more is that Google follows a system known as Quality Score.
If Google finds that people click and then disappear due to a less than great experience, you’ll have to pay more per click.
To conclude, in case you want to attract traffic quickly, start with search engine marketing, but work on your SEO simultaneously.
Generate a lasting and guaranteed online business with effective SEO!
Don’t rely solely on paid traffic!
