Content Attributes
Everyone is going digital. Every business wants to appear top-ranked in search engine results, but it is not that easy. You need to indulge in proper search marketing mechanisms. Some businesses opt for organic means, called search engine optimization (SEO), whereas others opt for paid means called search engine marketing (SEM).
Both SEO and SEM have their pros and cons. Before choosing one or both for your business marketing online, you need to understand the differences and clarify your concepts. There are also a lot of similarities when it comes to key goals and tools.
This article aims to explain what distinguishes SEO from SEM, which best suits your needs and budget.
Six key differences between SEO and SEM
SEO and SEM both aim to optimize the search results and appear high ranked in a user’s search results. They are also similar because both depend on keyword research to a great extent. There is a need to identify the target audience before carrying out marketing analysis and strategizing. But there are some differences as well.
The following are some points which will help you understand the differences between SEM and SEO:
Search results appearance
While both the SEO and SEM strategies help your website appear at high ranking in search results for a given keyword, the way they appear will be different. If you are using search engine marketing, which is paid, there will be an ‘Ad’ icon with your paid search result. It means that the user can see that you are using a paid tactic for reaching your target audience.
If you are using organic means, i.e., SEO, there will be no such icon, and it will appear as a normal search engine result. With SEM, there are call extensions, whereas, with SEO based results, the link shows featured snippets.
Click-through rate
SEO generally has a better click-through rate as compared to SEM. Whenever search results appear, the end-user is more likely to click on the top few organic results than clicking the SEM results with Ad icon.
This is why if SEO-based results reach top ranks on search engines with the help of SEO experts, they are likely to outperform paid search engine marketing.
Impact timing
The impact timing for SEO and SEM differs as well. The impact of SEM strategies is immediate. Since it is paid and is for a specified audience, the Ad will appear immediately to the end-user. On the other hand, the SEO results will take some time since the marketing strategy is organic.
It depends on the quality of content and the relevance of content to the search query. The impact timing of SEO is thus the long term.
Visibility to a selective audience
When you are displaying an SEM-based search result, you have the option of choosing your target audience. It is usually based on location. On the other hand, SEO is organic, and you do not have the option to select and target a specific audience based on age, habits, etc. When working with SEM, the publishers usually allow you to put conditions on the age, habits, income, etc., of users to specify your target audience.
Cost
SEM is a paid search marketing tactic. The SEM case results are basically paid placements; thus, you will need to designate SEM a budget to stay thriving in search engine results. You have to pay for Ads when a user clicks on the Ad.
On the other hand, SEO is through natural means, so there is no cost associated with clicks. If you are low on cost, you can just focus on search engine optimization instead of opting for SEM. In this way, you will save up on costs.
Use for Testing
For testing purposes, SEM is a better option than SEO. SEM is better for testing purposes because you can always turn the paid Ad on and off. You will often need to revise your Ad and target new audiences. This is the area where paid search marketing takes the cake from organic means.
To monitor differences through SEO results, you will have to wait for a longer time. If you want your search results to remain flexible and aim to tweak them often, you need to go for SEM.
Do you want to promote your business via SEO and SEM?
Well, you know what to do, don’t you? Indulge in search engine marketing. Decide which technique is better suited for your business and hire relevant professionals for SEO. But before investing, weigh in the pros and cons of SEO and SEM carefully.