Introduction
For people who really care about digital marketing and maximizing performance you need to leverage multiple marketing marketing methods together.
Two of the most important tactics to combine together are SEO and SEM. When done correctly they can help you achieve market dominance and generate new high quality leads on a regular basis faster than you can imagine.
This article will help explore the link between how SEO and SEM work together to achieve those results.
Understanding SEO and SEM
What is SEO?
Search engine optimization or SEO for short is the practice of ranking a website on the search engine for keywords that are relevant to a business. SEO traffic is considered to be “free” as it does not cost money to generate the traffic to your website. It does however cost time, energy and money, to make necessary changes to a website in order to see the desired result a business is looking for.
There are a few different types of SEO they are:
- On-Page
- Off -Page
- Technical
- Traditional
- Local
- News
Want to learn more about SEO? Read this article.
Benefits of SEO
- Long term organic traffic
- Enhanced credibility
- Brand awareness
- And more!
Long Term Organic Traffic
SEO will help generate long term organic traffic to your website. This traffic helps fuel growth and long term profits over time. Many businesses use SEO for its ability to generate long term traffic over time.
Enhanced Credibility
Ranking in at the top of Google gives your business major credibility. When was the last time you scrolled to the second or third page of the Google search results? We would be willing to say likely never. You get the point here.
Brand Awareness
As you rank for more keywords you will increase your visibility over time. This then contributes to enhanced brand awareness as ranking for more keywords means you drive more traffic to your website over time.
What is SEM?
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a strategy to increase a website’s visibility on the search engine results pages (SERPs) through the use of paid advertising. It does this via paid search advertising campaigns (such as Google Ads) to show ads at the top or bottom of search results.
Benefits of SEM
- Immediate visibility and “ranking”
- Highly targeted
- Measurable Results
- And more!
Immediate visibility and “ranking”
Want to “rank” at the top of Google but do not want to wait 3 to 6 months to do it? SEM can give you the ability to get there in as little as 1 to 2 weeks. The trade off? You pay for clicks (traffic) to your website based on keywords purchased
Highly Targeted
When run by a highly qualified advertising agency like Cindtoro ads can be a great way to generate more traffic, especially traffic that is highly targeted to your business’s product or service.
Measurable Results
SEM ads are also highly measurable. Ads give you the ability to track things that are not possible with SEO alone. One of the primary reasons SEM search engine marketing is used by advertisers and companies around the world is due to the ability to collect valuable data that cannot be collected through SEO alone.
The Link Between SEO and SEM
SEO and SEM have some amazing synergies when combined. First, they directly complement each other, they also share the same goals. Outcomes for the most part will be the same at the end of the day (Increased leads, brand awareness, traffic or sales)
The main difference will be timeline SEO takes 3 to 6 months to start working whereas Ads can work in as little as a month to start. This is why the Cindtoro team always asks our clients what their timeline is for getting new leads in the door. We are trying to gauge what strategies should be utilized to achieve the desired result you (our client) is looking for.
Complementary Strategies
SEO and SEM work together like peas in a pod. SEO helps to address the longer term content driven conversion funnel of your digital marketing. And SEM fills the gap with fast wins to keep the process going.
The efforts you take with SEO keywords can be tailored to longer buying cycles in the top, middle and bottom funnel. Then SEM can be used to quickly drive the most qualified traffic to your website. This approach can help you decrease your cost per lead and raise your conversion rates.
Shared Goals
The good news is both marketing strategies share the same goals to increase website visibility, generate targeted traffic, and improve conversion rates. As a result the only thing that differs from them is their timeline and type of data that can be collected. Search engine optimization is slow to work whereas search engine marketing is fast.
Benefits of Integrating SEO and SEM
- Enhanced Visibility
- Data Driven Insights
- Web Traffic Refinement
Enhanced Visibility
When you pair SEO and SEM together you give yourself an edge to dominate the search results pages with placements in both the organic and paid listings.
Most people will scroll past the ads to click on the organic search result. Whereas others will click on the first listing they see at the top of the page.
Having both means you do not miss any opportunities to increase your traffic and generate new business. Additionally, when you show up in both places you are also boosting your brand awareness and credibility.
Data-Driven Insights
Data is massive for both SEO and SEM alike. But one of the main benefits of using search engine marketing SEM will be unlocking insights that SEO could never tell you.
SEM can help you understand what types of content your audience is looking for and or what high quality keywords you should target next for SEO purposes.
Refining SEM campaigns based on SEO performance metrics.
On the opposite side of the spectrum you can use the insights from SEO performance data to make additional adjustments to your SEM campaign. Overtime this means increased ROI from your pay per click campaigns and a continuous feedback loop of data you can use to make both SEO and SEM strategies better.
Improved ROI
Combining SEO and SEM can help improve ROI by contributing to short and long term gains, The SEM will drive short-term fast revenue generation while SEO will generate the continuous long term traffic and growth over time. Both are necessary for a holistic digital marketing strategy.
Remember that when you combine both of these strategies together you are taking advantage of maximizing SERP real estate. The more places you are seen the more changes you have to convert those eyeballs into new paying clients for your business.
Gain A Unique Competitive Advantage
SEM analytics will give you a competitive advantage over just using SEO alone. SEM will provide advanced insight into your competitors strategies and keywords they are targeting you can then use to adjust your SEO tactics.
Conclusion
Combining both SEO and SEM is critical if you want to maximize the benefits of your digital marketing. A balanced marketing strategy will involve the use of multiple methods to achieve a desired outcome. Make the best choice for your business and dominate the search engine by using both. Need help with your digital marketing? Contact Cindtoro we would love to serve you.
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