Digital marketing is an essential way to grow your business, increase revenue, and establish your online presence. Two trends that will never go out of style and that you need to start using if you’re not already are Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM).
They each offer a different benefit, but contrary to some people beliefs, they work best when used together. If you want to improve the online presence of your website and get it the traffic it deserves, use SEO and SEM together. TheParallelProfits.com believes that you can build your very own local SEM agency from scratch and eventually makeup to $100,000/year by helping businesses get the results they deserve. It all starts by learning more about what these terms actually mean.
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
SEO is a tool that when followed correctly can help your website appear on the top page of search engine results. By using keywords, you can optimize your site, thus improving search engine rankings. SEO is also a great way to make your website more user-friendly, faster running, and easier to navigate.
Of course, an obvious benefit of SEO is the increased revenue for your business. With the increase in traffic to your site, you are more likely to make more sales. Optimizing makes the difference between a site that’s easily found on the internet versus one that gets lost in the hundreds of page results on Google.
What is Search Engine Marketing (SEM)?
Search engine marketing is essential to e-commerce sites because it brings more visibility and traffic to a business. People who use SEM purchase the advertising space within the search engine results page. Basically, you will be paying to appear on the first page of Google results.
SEM is important because it offers a quick solution to achieving results and establishing your online presence while SEO kicks in. Some benefits include:
- Offers brands the potential to make more money from their marketing campaigns.
- SEM is conversion-focused, meaning you’ll attract new subscribers through paid ads.
- Supports and increases brand awareness – it generates immediate results.
The Difference Between SEO and SEM
It’s no surprise that both tools can do great things for your e-commerce site. Utilizing them both hands in hand will provide increased exposure and SERP results. If you’re already using one, congratulations! Consider doubling your results by using both together.
Both SEO and SEM use keywords to drive traffic to sites. Further, the objective of them is to attract more leads and traffic to a site, consequently increasing sales and views.
Here are some ways they differ:
- Search engine optimization produces natural, organic results.
- Search engine marketing offers more leads and traffic through the purchasing of ads on search engines – sometimes referred to as cost per click (CPC) or pay per click (PPC) marketing.
- The results brought forward by SEO are long-term even though it takes a bit longer to see these results. SEM delivers short-term results, but you’ll see them within a matter of weeks.
It’s important to understand that SEM is a great option while you’re waiting for your SEO results to kick in. SEO brings organic traffic to your e-commerce site, but it can take several months to kick in. Therefore, it’s a good idea to use both together.
Search Engine Tactics Matter!
Both SEO and SEM have a lot to offer your e-commerce website. They’re industry-proven tactics that really work. Instead of determining which is best, consider using them together to achieve both short-term and long-term results – only then will your site begin to thrive!