SEO vs SEM, which is better?” It is an area of confusion for a lot of budding businesses. Also, experienced business owners who are trying their hands in online marketing are often stuck with this question and look for answers. So for all those people, the digital marketing experts at the leading SEO agency in Mumbai, Digitactix, are here to help you! In this blog, we are going to cast light on the difference between these two modes of marketing, Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing. But before that, let’s discuss from scratch.
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Search Engine Optimization or SEO is a marketing technique where the experts execute different organic strategies to get more visibility for the website on the top search engine result page. It is an organic technique where the brands don’t need to pay for getting a higher rank for their websites. Instead, the marketers can use multiple tactics that prompt search engines to know that the result is authoritative and valuable. Thereby, placing the website on the top page of the search result will solve the queries of the users in the best possible way.
There are hundreds of SEO tactics that help the brands improve their website’s search rankings, and these are as follows:
On-page SEO:
With this technique, our experts execute effective strategies to optimize the individual web pages by targeting some specific keywords. On-page SEO helps search engines understand the content of a page better and give it higher ranks on the result pages. So, these strategies are:
- High-quality content creation,
- Keyword research,
- Keyword optimization
- Image optimization
- Social media integration etc.
But, before you opt for the best digital marketing services in India, learn from our blog about SEO vs SEM marketing.
Off-page SEO:
This technique helps to build the reputation and authority of a website by linking it to other top-quality websites. When a lot of relevant and high-value websites are connected to a brand’s website, search engines consider it as trustworthy, reputable, and reliable, which ultimately increases the website’s ranking. Further, the strategies include:
- Link building
- Managing local directories and listings
- Brand promotions
- Building citations
- Social bookmarking etc.
Technical SEO:
It helps to optimize the website’s elements that are not related to the content. So, the strategies are:
- Mobile-friendliness
- Site speed
- Crawlability
- Indexing
- Structured data
- Site architecture
- Security
- Using canonical tags to eliminate the risk of duplicate content etc.
These strategies combined together, improve the backend structure and the foundation of the website, thereby helping it get the top search rank. Technical SEO helps to improve both search crawler and user experience, which ultimately leads to higher SEO rank.
What is Search Engine Marketing (SEM)?
Search Engine Marketing uses paid methods to get visibility for your website on the search engines. It includes both the processes of launching and optimizing ads as well as deciding a budget that pays for running the ads. For this strategy, Google Ads is most commonly used as the search provider.
The experts conduct keyword research and set up campaigns targeting the best keywords for the related products, industry, or services. When people search for those keywords, they find the customized ads at the top and bottom of the search results. And each time a user clicks on the ad, the brand has to pay. The leading SEM agency in Mumbai can help you best with SEM services for your brand.
SEO vs SEM similarities
SEO and SEM both are highly demanding and effective methods of search marketing. So if we look closely at them, we’ll find some similarities as well as differences. The similarities are as follows:
1. They both show a brand upon the top SERP:
The aim of both these techniques is to help a brand get more visibility. So they both help your website show up in search results when the users make a search related to your industry or product.
2. They both drive more traffic to the website:
Both these services apply various tactics to drive more and more traffic to the website and increase click-through rates.
3. They both require extensive keyword research:
Keyword research is the foundation of both these methods. Hence, extensive keyword research is the key to executing successful SEO and SEM plans.
4. They both target specific keywords:
Keyword is at the core of SEO and SEM and both these strategies focus on specific keywords for effective results.
5. They both demand constant optimization:
Both these methods are not like you set and forget. You need to constantly optimize and monitor your strategies to increase performance. Reach out to the top SEO agency in Mumbai for the best help regarding the keywords and getting the desired outcomes.
SEO vs SEM differences
So now that you have known the similarities between SEO and SEM, it’s time we discuss their differences. The differences are:
1. SEO is organic, SEM is paid:
SEO is an organic method. That means the traffic that SEO drives to the website is called organic traffic. In other words, you do not have to pay a penny for the clicks your website gets from the result. On the other hand, SEM is a paid method. The rank you get from SEM is paid and so is the website traffic.
2. SEO takes time, SEM is instant:
SEO is such a method that takes a minimum of 3 to 4 months to show the desired results. SEO requires wise planning, smart execution, and patience to apply the tactics and take a website to the top SERP. Contrary to that, the results you get through SEM are instant. You can put your SEM results in front of your audiences in just a few clicks. Once you set up the campaign, your ads start running and your website starts showing up on the SERPs.
3. SEO gives value over time, unlike SEM:
Once your website is on the top SERP through SEO efforts, it keeps adding value to your business for a long time. The SEO results are long-lasting and the strategy compounds over time. However, on the flip side, SEM only shows results as long as you pay for it. You can turn the ads on to increase the visibility of your website or turn off the ads to stop showing your website and the strategy is over.
Apart from these major differences, there are some more like the following:
4. The click-through rate is higher with SEO but not with SEM.
5. Also, testing the effectiveness of the strategies is easy with SEM, unlike SEO.
6. The results that SEM brings the show to a specific target audience, unlike SEO.
7. With SEM, there are ad extensions. But, with SEO, there are featured snippets.
So before you choose digital marketing services in India for your brand, we advise you to learn the SEO vs SEM differences and similarities and pick as per your requirements.
SEO vs SEM, which is better for your brand?
To conclude, SEO vs SEM, which is better for your brand, we can say that it entirely depends on the requirements you have. If you want immediate results and are ready to spend a few bucks, SEM is a good option. Whereas, if you have patience and want long-lasting results, then you must go for SEO. Both these techniques are effective in their respective places. Again, if your brand and website are relatively new and you want instant results, SEM should be your choice. And if your website is already established and well-optimized, then you should go for SEO.
A lot more factors are there that need to be considered while choosing your marketing strategy and for that, a thorough analysis of your business, your goals, and your expectations is a must. Here in this blog, we have tried to give you an overall idea. But if you want a detailed discussion, get in touch with us.