Research reveals that Google processes more than 40,000 search queries per second. It translates to an estimated 3.5 billion searches every day.
It raises the question, ‘how do I get my brand seen with such competition?’ Between SEO and SEM agencies telling you their way is the best, you’ll find it impossible to choose the ideal marketing strategy.
Discover the differences between SEO and SEM to make an informed choice:
A Quick Glance at SEO
Search Engine Optimization is a tactic to optimize your website or content to drive organic traffic. SEO primarily focuses on attracting natural visitors from search results to your products and services
Remember that while organic search traffic doesn’t cost you anything, the process of SEO may require you to curate a budget. SEO may be of the following three types:
On-Page SEO
It includes the optimization of individual web pages:
- Developing high-quality and engaging SEO content
- Incorporating the best keyword terms within titles, meta descriptions, alt texts, images, etc.
- Writing a clear, sweet, and concise text
- Optimizing web pages and landing pages around desired keywords
Technical SEO
Technical SEO aims to aid search engines in scanning, evaluating, and indexing content effectively:
- Setting tags that allow Google’s bots to index your website
- Optimizing robots.txt file and website internal links
- Creating an up-to-date sitemap.xml
Off-Page SEO
It focuses on improving website ranking:
- Gaining high-quality backlinks
- Ensuring personal brand development
- Gaining positive reviews and feedback
- Creating your Google My Business account
Why is SEO Important?
Here are several studies that highlight the importance of SEO:
- More than 93% of online experiences start with a search engine
- Up to 92% of all clicks occur on the first page of Google
- Approximately 40% of all online revenue roots from organic traffic
A Quick Glance at SEM
Search Engine Marketing is another excellent strategy to funnel relevant traffic from the search engines via sponsored ad listings.
SEM is similar to PPC advertising and marketing and helps advertisers boost visibility and drive targeted traffic.
Why is SEM Important?
Here’s why SEM matters for your brand:
- Research reveals that 64.6% of users click on Google Ads when they’re seeking specific product/services
- The first three paid advertising spots enjoy 46% of the clicks
SEO vs. SEM: Which One Benefits Your Brand?
Search engine optimization focuses on tweaking and enhancing your web pages. Its primary goal is to help drive organic traffic, boost user experience, and improve rankings.
Conversely, SEM only includes paid search engine listings. Here we discuss the differences between SEO and SEM:
Payment when User Clicks on a Result
SEM involves paid placements; thus, you pay each time a user clicks on a result. On the flip side, you don’t have to pay anything when a viewer chooses an organic search result.
Therefore, you must create a budget for advertising SEM ads.
Impact of SEO and SEM
Paid SEM ads enable you to display your web pages before your target audience within a couple of seconds. Your ads start appearing in SERPs instantly after launching a campaign. Moreover, you have complete control over the visibility of your ads.
On the other hand, SEO takes several months before your brand and web pages start ranking.
Value over Time
Remember that SEM remains active as long as you have the budget. Once you turn off your ads, your SEM strategy vanishes.
However, SEO strategies continue to grow stronger and last longer.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
It’s no surprise that the first three organic search results enjoy the highest click-through rates. You’ll likely experience a higher CTR than SEM if you secure these spots.
However, if your web pages appear on the second or third page of Google results, you’ll notice a better CTR with SEM.
Ad Extensions or Featured Snippets
SEM and SEO also differ in their appearance on Google’s search results. Typically, SEM search results include ad extensions, such as phone numbers, additional links, and callouts.
On the flip side, SEO results include featured snippets.
Testing
Since you can turn SEM on and off, it’s an excellent way of testing new strategies. You may try several ad copies, target new audiences, and measure the differences in your approach.
SEO does not provide you the liberty to test several strategies.
What Do SEO and SEM Have in Common
Despite their differences, SEM and SEO have a lot in common. Both strategies promise the following:
Help Brands Appear in Search Results
SEO and SEM focus on helping your brand and web pages appear in top positions on SERPs.
The primary aim of both strategies is to help a brand turn up in search results when users search specific keywords.
Drive Traffic to Your Website
SEM and SEO help businesses gain visibility on SERPs and drive traffic to your website. Each tactic employs innovative strategies to boost CTR and reduce bounce rate.
Understand Your Audience
To succeed at SEO or SEM, you must understand your audience, their buying behavior, and their pain points.
Developing buyer personas and psychographic segmentation enable businesses to discover their customers’ needs, likes, and dislikes.
This way, you can create valuable and engaging content that shows up when viewers seek solutions.
Use Keywords to Find Popular Queries
SEO and SEM involve keyword research to rank higher in search engine results.
It includes determining long-tail and short keywords while analyzing keyword competition to see which terms your competitors are using.
The Bottom Line: SEO and SEM
Developing your long-term goals and recognizing your business’s mission and vision are integral to creating a killer digital marketing strategy.
By combining SEO and SEM strategies, you automatically gain a competitive edge. But if you lack either tactic, you’re already several steps behind.
Enjoy the best of both worlds by allowing us at Firestarter SEO to create an effective digital marketing strategy. Our highly trained and experienced industry leaders drive organic traffic and boost rankings by leveraging the best SEO and SEM strategies.
