Distinguishing Between SEO and SEM

: A marketer analyzing SEO performance

SEO and SEM are two terms that are part of every digital marketer’s lexicon. People from non-marketing backgrounds often use these terms interchangeably, believing them to be the same, but that’s not true.

It’s easy to confuse the two because they relate to search engines. But they’re distinct concepts. SEO is an abbreviation for search engine optimization. It refers to optimizing websites to get them to rank well in search engine rankings. Ranking well in search engine rankings is crucial because users often use Google, Bing, and other search engines to start their buying journeys. Similarly, they also use these search engines to get information about products, services, and businesses.

Following the best SEO practices can help a website rank on the first page of the search engine results for specific keywords, which is crucial because it increases search visibility and traffic. Research shows that most users never browse past Google’s first page when searching for their desired results, and since Google gets over nine billion daily searches, you’ll want to ensure your agency’s or client’s website ranks on the first page to ensure traction.

Reports surveying marketers show that most unanimously agree that SEO is an excellent source of organic traffic. It’s also one of the most effective ways to acquire new customers.

The importance of SEO for digital marketing campaigns cannot be ignored. If your agency doesn’t provide SEO services, you’re missing out on an effective channel to help clients generate leads and sales. Consider partnering with a white label l industry leader SEO reseller agency like  Rocket Driver. You can outsource white label SEO services to them. It’ll allow your agency to increase its service offerings and generate more promising marketing results for clients.

SEO consists of several components. These include keyword research, on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO.

Keyword research

Since SEO involves generating organic traffic from search engine results, your agency must first perform keyword research. It’ll help you determine what people are searching for and their search intent.

People use specific keywords when searching for products or services. For instance, let’s assume you’re providing SEO services for an upscale men’s suits clothing store in NYC. Your client’s target audience might search for three-piece suits in Manhattan and other similar keywords.

You’ll want to ensure you optimize your client’s website for these keywords to get them a higher ranking in search engine results.

Many marketers gravitate toward generic keywords because they seem like the obvious choice. However, long-tail and localized keywords are essential for businesses looking to generate and convert leads. They’re more effective because long-tail keywords have limited competition, while localized keywords help customers with a buying intent find your client’s products and services easily.

On-page SEO

On-page SEO refers to creating content that your client’s audience wants. An upscale men’s suits shop’s customers might be looking for helpful content to assist them in choosing the right suit for weddings and business conferences.  

On-page SEO requires your agency to create compelling copy and optimize it with the necessary keywords. It also involves blogging and creating content regularly to help your client rank better in SERPs.

While aligning content according to your client’s target audience’s search intent is the right approach, it’s not the only factor that matters for on-page SEO. Other critical factors for on-page SEO include using descriptive URLs, utilizing meta tags, optimizing images, etc.

Off-page SEO

Off-page SEO is also critical for ensuring your client’s website ranks well in the SERPs. It refers to obtaining authority signals and trust from other reputable websites. The primary way to achieve this is by getting high-quality backlinks for your client’s website. Google also uses other signals to measure your client’s website’s authority, like social media sharing and E-A-T. E-A-T is an abbreviation of expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.

Technical SEO

Search engines crawl websites to find information. You’ll want to ensure your client’s site architecture doesn’t prevent search engines from indexing and crawling all their web pages.

Technical SEO requires your agency to follow the best web design practices for clients. Your client’s website won’t rank well on search engines if it isn’t optimized for mobile devices. Similarly, Google and other search engines don’t respond well to slow-loading websites. Slow-loading websites have higher bounce rates, negatively affecting their rankings.  

SEM

While SEO focuses on gaining organic traffic, SEM strategies primarily focus on getting paid and organic traffic through search engines and other platforms. As a result, SEM incorporates both SEO and PPC. SEM is an abbreviation for search engine marketing.

SEM is an umbrella term that describes various online strategies that help promote your client’s business through search engines. Pay-per-click advertising is also an essential part of SEM.

Digital marketers creating a digital marketing strategy

SEO vs. SEM: How quickly do they produce results?

SEO and SEM have differences in how long they take to provide results. Most marketers agree that SEO needs time before it delivers results. According to a Morningscore survey, 82 percent of marketers agreed that SEO efforts take six months before organic traffic increases. They also agreed that effective SEO strategies require one to two years before paying dividends.

While SEO takes time, it doesn’t mean that your clients cannot start ranking for some keywords within a few months. Agencies often use long-tail keywords because they don’t have significant competition, meaning your SEO efforts will start paying off quickly.

Unlike SEO, SEM requires you to pay for traction that your client might receive. Since most SEM activities revolve around paid advertising, your agency can obtain results for clients more quickly.

For instance, let’s assume your client operates a flower cart in Midtown. You could create a pay-per-click advertisement and display it on Facebook and Instagram. These advertisements could reach your client’s target audience, generating traffic and conversions on the same day.

The difference between SEO and SEM costs

People often think SEO is a free way to generate organic traffic, but that’s not necessarily true. Getting your clients to rank well on search engines requires time and effort. You’ll need to create compelling copy and content for on-page SEO activities. Likewise, building domain authority requires creating engaging content and networking with other websites to get high-quality backlinks.

In addition, agencies also often spend thousands of dollars investing in SEO tools for keyword research and analysis. Furthermore, you’ll also have to work with web designers and developers to ensure your client’s site architecture works correctly and their website is optimized for your SEO efforts to pay off.  

Conversely, SEM marketing activities also cost time, money, and resources. PPC campaigns require your agency to spend money upfront, although they’re more likely to guarantee some results for their cost and effort, which isn’t necessarily true for SEO activities. PPC campaigns are usually cheaper than SEO in the short run. However, it’s important to note that your client will stop getting traffic once you stop paying for these campaigns, which isn’t a problem with SEO because your client will continue to get traffic once they’ve ranked well on search engines.  

As a result, the best SEO practices can help generate organic traffic for clients long after the initial investment.

Seamlessly Integrating SEO and SEM Strategies

Integrating SEO and SEM strategies is crucial to ensure the best digital marketing campaign results. Combining them can help your clients gain more traction because they’ll generate traffic from paid and organic sources.

Your SEO efforts will let your client gain traction from their target client with a buying or informational search intent. PPC advertising will allow them to increase brand awareness and target a broader audience who could be convinced to purchase your client’s product or services.

Google AdWords is a popular PPC advertising platform that combines well with SEO efforts. It lets you select keywords your client wants to rank for, and they can bid on them. Your client will have to pay a small fee whenever a user clicks on the Google AdWords listing, making it a worthwhile investment because they won’t waste money on unnoticed and ineffective ads.

The best approach for integrating SEO and SEM involves using PPC advertisements to target your client’s most desired keywords. It’ll help them get immediate results because PPC campaigns reach the target audience quicker than SEO. Meanwhile, continue implementing the best SEO practices to help your client rank better for other keywords. Once enough time passes, they’ll start to rank well on search engine pages. You can then decide if PPC campaigns are still worth the investment.

PPC campaign analytics

Get Started with Rocket Driver

If you’re searching for white label marketing solutions and need white label SEO or PPC services, check out Rocket Driver. The industry leader offers several services to agencies, including White Label SEO, White Label Marketing, White Label Reputation Management, White Label Social Media, White Label SMS Marketing, White Label Content Marketing, and White Label Web Design.

Check out their website, www.rocketdriver.com/. You can also contact Rocket Driver to kickstart a white label partnership today.

Book a demo now with Tom Lombardi, one of the founding partners, who will give you a 45-minute, one-on-one tour of the Rocket Driver Partnership to show you how incredible they are!

Share This :