Being seen is everything, and in this day and age, that means being on the first page of search engine results. Enter Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimisation — the twin dynamos that can well put your business to the path of success.
These two digital marketing concepts are related in that both aim to get your business on the first page of search engine services. The benefits are simple: Being seen means higher traffic, leading to greater sales or at the very least, better brand recognition.
While the two ideas are different, they are related in an intimate way. Search Engine Optimisation refers to organising your website to let search engines crawl through your assets and listing it in an organic way — it doesn’t require any advertising spend. Search Engine Marketing on the other hand, is a specific practice where the practitioner has to be familiar with paid advertising on search engines largely on a pay-per-click basis.
Here are the benefits:
1. Accessible To Every Business
Every business needs a website or it might never get visibility in this day and age. The good news is that SEO has a very low barrier for entry — all you need is to spend some time researching popular keywords to your business and incorporating them into your website. One easy way to do this is to have a content section on your site that can allow you to post quality articles and increase web traffic.
2. It Attracts A High Intent Audience
Pause for a moment and ask yourself, “Why do I use search engines like Google?” The answer is that you’re likely looking for a solution to a question or a transaction to make. Such is the audience that both SEO and SEM can bring in. Your traffic will largely be an audience that is already looking for a product or service that’s similar to what you offer. The higher intent your audience is, the more likely they will convert to being your customers.
3. It Is Highly Targeted
Both SEO and SEM allow you to target a very specific audience. While SEO brings in a high intent audience, SEM lets you narrow the audience down to specific locations and specific keywords that you want visibility for. And the best part? You don’t actually have to pay unless a user clicks on the link making it far less expensive than traditional advertising.
4. SEO Has Long Term Returns
SEO is a long term strategy but its payoff far outrstrips the initial time and monetary investment. Once your pages rank on search engines, it will be there for as long as your website exists and the rankings will build on itself over time.
5. SEM Allows For Short Term Gains
Unlike SEO, SEM is an advertising game and your prime spot on search engine real estate is guaranteed unless you end the campaign. This has numerous benefits especially if you’re launching a new product or service and need a quick way to get the word out. While not every web user will click on the link that you’ve provided nor convert as a buyer, it provides a visible touchpoint, which is at least, a win from a brand awareness standpoint.
