Did you know that 72% of overall marketing budgets get directed toward digital marketing platforms? Market indicators show that digital marketing will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9% up to 2026.
No matter the type of your e-commerce brand, it’s essential to generate organic web traffic for your business. The more web traffic you get, the more revenue your website will generate.
You can build traffic to your website in two primary ways – search engine optimization and search engine marketing.
But, many business owners don’t know to distinguish between SEO VS SEM strategies. This makes it hard to decide whether to focus on one or the other.
This article provides an ultimate guide on the SEO vs SEM differences.
Costs
Generally, organic search engine optimization is the best digital marketing tactic for prolonged results. Business websites that rank high in search results for their target keywords get free traffic 24/7.
Besides, your website enjoys industry recognition and all the benefits of SEO. Alternatively, if your website uses SEM, you will still get the targeted traffic from search engines, but you’ll have to pay for it.
Even though SEO traffic is considered free, you’ll need to invest plenty of time, effort, and money to get top organic search results for popular keywords. You must create high-quality content often, which can be a costly adventure.
Time
The time taken between SEO and SEM to deliver results differs significantly. While SEO may take a lot of time to work and give you results, search engine marketing is almost instant.
Therefore, the type of digital marketing you choose between the two will vary depending on your entire digital marketing goals. You can start with SEM and paid search advertising if you wish to get traffic fast while still working on your SEO.
Using the SEO marketing strategy, you can also create a long-lasting online business without depending on paid traffic.
Ease of Learning
If you’re a beginner, there’ll be a learning curve in understanding SEO and SEM. However, you can become an SEM expert faster than an SEO pro.
Search engine marketing has fewer rules than search engine optimization. After learning how to use an SEM platform, start experimenting using pay-per-click campaigns.
With SEO, you need to understand how search engines work, especially ranking factors. Keep in mind that search engines use many rules in deciding the order in which results will appear for a given search term.
So, a lot of work gets involved in SEO. You can sign up for online courses to facilitate fast learning and build SEO skills.
Visit the HOTH learning hub to get more insight on SEO for your business.
SEO vs SEM
There are many benefits of SEO and SEM services for your business website. Understanding how SEO vs SEM differ will help you know the best strategy for your business.
Consult with your digital marketing agency to know the best types of SEO and SEM services. That way, you can attract more web traffic and increase sales in your business.
Explore our blog to learn more about advertising and marketing for your business.
