Understanding The Difference Between SEO And SEM

SEO and SEM

Direct Traffic To Web Pages

Some people use the terms SEO and SEM interchangeably. However, Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing are somewhat distinct even though both are strategies used to direct traffic to certain web pages in order to generate leads and boost sales.

What’s Search Engine Marketing Anyway?

Search Engine Marketing, commonly regarded as SEM, is more of a paid form of advertising. Search engines allow websites to advertise by targeting certain keywords. For instance, you can use Google Adwords or Bing Ads to ensure your website appears among the first listings on SERPs. When someone searches for a keyword, your ad will appear and Google will charge based on the clicks obtained, which is why it’s referred to as pay per click advertising.

When To Use SEM?

An SEO company in Toronto may recommend SEM if you have a good budget so that your ads can be displayed as often as possible for the list of keywords you choose. If you don’t have a big enough budget, you may not be able to reach as many potential users and therefore find it hard to analyze results and end up paying for the wrong keywords for a long time. Additionally, paid search engine marketing requires frequent analysis so that you don’t end up wasting money on keywords that don’t convert.

Understanding Search Engine Optimization

SEO involves thousands of strategies that can be used to help websites gain top rankings on organic search. Search engine optimization can be divided into two. The first is on-page which is where adjustments are made within the website such as including relevant keywords in order to make the pages rank for relevant searches. The other is off-page which is optimizing the website using inbound links on a different platform that target a specific page on your website.

When To Use SEO?

When done properly, search engine optimization and help you pull relevant traffic to your website with a small budget and great long-term results. Unlike paid search advertising techniques, SEO doesn’t end when you stop optimizing your pages. If you work on relevant keywords, quality content and stay away from poor SEO, you’ll reap great returns in the long run.

The main advantage of using search engine optimization is you never have to pay for click to your website. When done well, your pages will appear on SERPs and people click on them depending on what’s relevant during their search. One thing you have to understand is that organic search optimization can take a long time before your website is listed on search results. It can take months for your pages to rank well for popular keywords and phrases. The beauty of SEO Toronto is that, once they do you will begin to reap the benefits at no extra cost.

Most companies use a mix of SEO and SEM in order to get the best results. They start with SEM to understand which keywords have the highest returns or conversions and use SEO to optimize their pages for those keywords. With the right strategy, your web pages will soon be listed on organic results and you’ll get many visitors at a fraction of the cost.

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