Defining SEO and SEM
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of enhancing
web pages’ positions in the organic search engine results for specific keyword
searches. The effects of search
engine optimization are seen in the main body of the search engine results
pages (SERPs). Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is the management of a paid
search engine advertising campaigns.
SEM and SEO are used to bring more traffic to your website, generally
for the purpose of attracting customers, generating sales leads, or closing
online sales (e-commerce). These
two Internet marketing disciplines are highly complementary; and most businesses
utilize both in conjunction with email marketing, social marketing as part of
an integrated online marketing program.
A SEO company improves your Google search engine ranking by
making enhancements to your website structure, keywords, content, meta tags,
inbound and outbound links (to and from your website). This same methodology also applies to
improving search engine results on the other major search engines: Yahoo!, Bing
and Ask. It is extremely important
for your web pages’ listings to appear on Page One of the Google search
results, because most people find what they’re looking for on the first page of
the organic search results.
SEM services entail the creation and management of
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns including bid and budget management, keyword selection
and grouping, identification and application of negative keywords, and
continuous monitoring and optimization of the Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). PPC ads are found at the top and right
margins (‘sponsored results’) of the SERPs; and every time someone clicks on
your ad, you owe Google (or Bing, Yahoo! or Ask) the pay-per-click fee.
SEO and SEM
Conversions
A conversion is a specific action you want your website
visitors to take, and the Conversion Rate (also known as Click Thru Rate or
CTR) is the percentage of visitors which take this action when given the
opportunity. Typically online
marketing programs identify a series of conversion actions which correspond to
the steps in the sales cycle.
Examples of typical conversion actions would include:
Clicking
on your web page’s entry in the organic search results
Clicking
on your PPC ad (link to your website) in the sponsored results
Navigating
to a specific page on your website
Requesting
more product information
Signing
up for a newsletter or email offers
Completing
and submitting a Contact Form
Looking
at an online video or product demo
Requesting
a call from a salesperson
Making
an online purchase
An SEO company or SEM services organization tracks these
conversions to identify weaknesses in the online marketing process, and make
search engine optimization enhancements or PPC campaign changes to increase the
amount of website traffic, conversions and CTR.
Search Engine
Optimization - Benefits and Drawbacks
SEO Benefits:
- Avoids
Pay-Per-Click costs
- Creates
a more lasting effect than SEM
- Enhances
rankings on all search engines
SEO Drawbacks:
- Can
take months to have an effect on organic search results
- No
guarantee of Page One Google search engine ranking
- May
require significant (and costly) changes to website structure and content
Search Engine
Marketing Strategy +/-
SEM Benefits:
- Immediate
effect – PPC ad can generate traffic the first day
- Easy
to calculate ROI and manage costs
- Does
not require changes to website
SEM Drawbacks:
- Effect
does not persist when ads stop
- Cost
can be high, especially for highly competitive keywords
- Need
separate program for each major search engine
SEO and SEM
Recommendations
We recommend combining search engine marketing and search
engine optimization in an integrated online marketing program – along with
social marketing and email marketing. Calculating the value of your key conversion actions (and accurately
measuring the costs of SEO and SEM) enables you to allocate your marketing
budget to the activities that give the best ROI.