Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning we get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you. Please read our disclosure for more info.
Last Updated on July 27, 2021 by Work In My Pajamas
We’ve all heard of the godsend that is SEO and the benefits that it racks up on a daily basis. That’s all fine and dandy but this only one half of the proverbial coin, it is a part of a larger field of digital marketing – SEM.
Comparing the two would be fruitless due to the fact that they both work to accomplish similar things in different manners. When that’s all clear and sorted, we can get into why it’s important to cover both bases in order to achieve any reasonable amount of success.
In This Post:
The What Now?
First and foremost, a few things need to be clarified. SEM or Search Engine Marketing is the umbrella term, covering both free (SEO) and paid (PPC) search advertising. This will not only have your advertisement appear before any organic search results but will also provide a backup plan should your SEO fall flat and not appear among the top tier results. This advertising method is a costly one [SEM] but it gets the job done and is usually set up in such a way that it relies exclusively on the budget it’s given as opposed to charging you a set amount each month.
PPC
The king of online ads, PPC is naturally the first method we’ll mention. PPC or pay-per-click advertisement works exactly like it sounds – it only charges companies once the advertisement has been clicked on, each click costs a set amount and you’ve pretty much gotten the gist.
The neat thing about PPC, apart from its relatively low costs (if set properly), is that it can not only be applied when search engines are concerned but also on websites that are ranking high for our own keywords.
The inner-workings of PPC can be a bit finicky, which is why most owners end up outsourcing their PPC needs to companies that know the playing field and the tricks of the trade.
SEO
Interestingly enough, SEO itself is a part of SEM, and why wouldn’t it be? Search Engine Optimization functions like a magnet for organic results and essentially covers the other end of the market. The tricky thing about this approach is that it’s unique to each and every business.
As prominent companies in the field like GWM SEO tell us: there is no one strategy that will work for two businesses. Having a plan specifically tailored for your own business is crucial and will make sure it doesn’t fall flat as it would if we opted to borrow someone else’s solution. Look into it, give it your own spin, and keep it fresh.
You Get What You Paid For
At the end of the day, it really does end up giving us what we paid for. Whether the investment is time or money, SEM has a way of returning our investment tenfold if we manage to play our cards right at the start. The key thing to remember here is that the internet offers us a unique opportunity, something our fathers and grandfathers could have only dreamed of – unlimited potential.
With the internet, we are given the chance of reaching people not only outside our own city but outside the country, the continent. With such a broad potential audience and the sound of cash registers in our minds, SEM is starting to look a lot less like a hassle and more and more like a necessity.
