Do you want to increase your web traffic and bring more potential customers to your page? For this there are two concepts of online marketing that you must master: the SEO and SEM positioning. But what are the differences between the two terms? The truth is that although in many cases they are confused, they are very different issues. In fact, although both techniques claim improve the visibility of a business on the Internet to get new sales or conversions, its operation is totally different. We tell you what each one consists of and how to get the best resultss.
What do the acronyms SEO and SEM mean?
The first of all is to know the definition of both concepts.
- SEO : is the acronym in English of Search Engine Optimization (search engine optimization). It refers to the process that allows improve a website’s visibility in organic results of the different search engines. That is, it serves to appear in the top positions when the user performs a certain search related to the content of the website. For this, it is necessary to provide valuable and quality information.
- SEM : is the acronym in English for Search Engine Marketing. Seeks gain more visibility through paid ad campaigns. That is, it advertises the products or services on our website on Google to achieve our objectives. They always include the tag “ad.” Therefore, the person who accesses the search engine is aware from the first moment that someone has paid to be there.
SEO and SEM positioning: their differences
As we have just seen, between SEO and SEM positioning there are important differences, and not just in terms of their meaning. In the following list, we detail some of the most important ones.
- The costs:
Although the cost of doing SEO implies an investment in experts in positioning and optimized content that may be on the payroll or be an external company, the cost of SEM is higher. To this expense you must also add an advertising budget to invest in the bids for the words.
- Times to get results:
SEO positioning requires a strategy in the medium-long term to give results. It should take at least a few months to see the performance, and this time will vary depending on the level of competition in the niche in which we want to position ourselves.
In contrast, an SEM campaign plan can deliver results from day one, although weeks or months depending on the account are required to achieve the best optimization.
- The type of strategy:
For a plan SEO and SEM positioning In the case of Organic, a prior audit of the website is required, an analysis of the competition, the study of the best keywords for our business and a content generation work with which to position them.
Unlike SEO, in SEM positioning the strategy is based on the study of keywords by volume and by cost. Those that are considered best to be positioned and converted within the advertising budget available to bid on them are analyzed.
- The visibility:
The SEO positioning does not guarantee the best position in search engines. Even if you have a good SEO positioning team that knows the different variables and algorithm changes well and is capable of carrying out a well-focused strategy, Google periodically modifies its way of ordering results and your position is not fixed.
In the case of SEM positioning If you have a good budget and you work, both on the quality of the landing page and the ad, you can choose to maintain the first positions. What you cannot guarantee is not a specific one either, since the other advertisers also compete.
- The content type:
SEO is based on creating content that adds value and quality. Google values that they are very complete contents, with a very careful treatment of the information and in a long or extensive format.
Meanwhile, in the SEM you have ads with a very reduced number of characters, with which you must be able to attract the attention of the potential customer.
Importance of positioning for companies
Today the Internet is the main source of information, where millions of users come in search of answers. For this reason, it is essential to be present on the web and have a good SEO and SEM strategy that guarantees your visibility to consumers.
The success of an online business occurs when traffic begins to come to the web. It is achieved with the visits of Internet users and, normally, the websites with the most traffic are the most successful and profitable, economically speaking. That is why a good SEO and SEM positioning the keys are assumed to bring an online business to fruition.
Advantages of organic search engine optimization (SEO):
- Long-term high profitability: Once you manage to position your keywords correctly, the maintenance and optimization of the content will be enough to keep you in the first SEO search positions.
- Attract qualified traffic: By positioning the web by the keywords that define our product or service, the SEO traffic we achieve is of quality. Our website will respond to the search of users, and therefore, their expectations will be met.
- Users click on organic results easier: It has been proven that users click more easily on organic results (which we have achieved naturally thanks to content) than on Google ads.
- The investment is stable: your expenses will be the SEO positioning fees of the company you hire for the creation of content, which will be stable and independent of the number of visits.
Advantages of search engine optimization (SEM):
- Short-term profitability: With a well-planned SEM campaign, results can be obtained right out of the box.
- Allows you to position an unlimited number of keywords: The keywords must respond as best as possible to what the company really offers so that the visits are profitable, but you can position as many words as you consider appropriate.
- Allows you to create specific campaigns: Depending on which page of our website we want to send traffic to, we can create specific campaigns for each of them.
- Possibility of segmenting: It is possible to run campaigns that only appear in the search results of our target audience and segment, for example, by age, gender or location.
- It is possible to estimate results: Depending on the investment and the cost per click of each keyword in the campaign, we can forecast the results or visits that we will achieve.
How to apply SEO and SEM Positioning:
It is not an exceptional fact that when starting a SEO and SEM positioning project you have the idea that, if you do not have a large budget, you have to choose whether the resources are dedicated to natural web positioning or to search engine advertising . However, combining both disciplines within the company’s marketing plan is the best option for any type of project.
The strategies aimed at appearing in the first results of Google naturally when potential clients perform a search related to the services offered by the company do not have immediate results, but rather the fruit of the work carried out in SEO is obtained in the medium-long term .
On the contrary, search engine advertising they get the messages announcing the company to be shown to the users that make up the company’s target audience from the moment you decide to activate the publication of the announcements.
Not only at the beginning of a project, the synergies between the work done in SEO and the investment in SEM campaigns are a profitable combination for companies. Analyzing the data of which ad landing pages are the ones that obtain the best results, the ones that attract the most users will be known, being able to work on their natural positioning in the medium term. You can also reinforce the advertising for keywords that are interesting for the business but for which you do not get traffic from organic results.
Combining the efforts of SEO and SEM positioning making the actions are coordinated both in time and in orientation will achieve that the overall performance of search engine marketing is greater than if one of the two disciplines or both are executed separately.
Now that you know what SEO and SEM are, what are their differences and how both strategies can help you improve your visibility, in Traced We make it even easier for you. What marketing agency specialized in attracting business on the Internet, we have the best professionals to help you achieve it. Do not hesitate to contact us if you want to increase traffic and give visibility to your brand.
