Search Engine Optimization or SEO and Search Engine Marketing or SEM are current buzz words in the internet marketing industry. Many outsiders often wonder if there is a big difference between the two of them as they seem to be used interchangeably.
SEO mainly has 2 components: on-page optimization and off-page Optimization; both are used to increase ranking on the search engine results pages. It works through organic means with the search engines and is a potent technique to promote a website.
On the other hand, SEM is an all-encompassing approach to increase all of a company’s marketing efforts that includes a website’s traffic and visibility through many different activities including SEO; however, it may also include certain ‘paid search activities’ such as Pay-Per-Click or PPC advertising which is another method to achieve high ranking in the search engines.
SEM Definition
SEM is loosely defined as the means by which a business is promoted by their website through optimization and paid advertising. It has become an umbrella term that is used to describe sales efforts via the internet. Of the two tactics, SEO involves a long-term commitment through natural or organic efforts to increase the ranking of a website on the Search Engine Results Pages. Paid advertising involves just what it says, paying to have a presence on the SERP’s to market a product or service. These tactics can work together or they can work separately.
It’s All About Control
The most imperative element of Search Engine Marketing is control. Engaging in this type of marketing allows selecting what visitors see when coming to a website or product page. The product’s Landing Page is where efforts are directed with relevant keywords that adequately describe a product. Good landing pages should enhance the curiosity of viewers enough to want to click the links connecting to the product or service being offered. It is a means of control that allows a webpage to obtain high volumes of online traffic that will hopefully convert current viewers to prospective purchasers.
Commonly used SEM Strategy
It is important to remember that SEM is the wider avenue through which many tactics can be driven. Listed below are some of the possible strategies to be used.
- Pay Per Click – This is the optimal way to purchase online advertising as no cost is incurred for the advertiser unless a viewer clicks on the link. It allows for the control of money spent on advertising and provides an opportunity to control ROI and receive the highest number of conversions.
- Paid Inclusion – This is an online advertising model utilized on many search engines. It provides opportunities for a name or brand to be at the forefront of the search engine results, usually clearly identified as a paid advertisement; however, it does place a company or product on the first page of the results pages.
- Pay Per Play – PPP is the online’s modern and rapidly growing form of advertising. This is the latest revolution in internet advertising. It is the only SEM that permits you to procure and multiply earnings from searchers to a webpage, offering a 100% conversion rate.
Hopefully some helpful information has been gained about SEM and how it can be used. Remember that SEM is the avenue through which organic search results or SEO and paid search results such as PPC and PPP pass on the way to high search engine rankings. Whatever type of marketing strategy is chosen, the primary goal is to use a technique that maximizes the amount of qualified traffic to a website in a cost-effective way that brings actual results. So don’t be confused about SEM – learn and use it in the best way possible!
