SEO vs. SEM: What is the Difference?

You have recognized the fact that the world of business is changing and in order for your company to thrive, you really should have a website to advertise that you exist.  But how do potential customers find your website on the internet?  The majority of people will visit a search engine, such as Google or Yahoo, to find what they are looking for.  About 73% of website visits are originated in this manner.  That means that if you want people visiting your website, a search engine has to acknowledge that you exist!  So how does that happen?  There are two different ways in which a search engine will know about you.  They are SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing).  Let’s take a closer look at what these are.

SEO

About 85% of the people who use the internet will perform a search at least once a day.  When a search is performed, your potential customers will more than likely ONLY check out the links that are displayed on the first page or two.  If your business is not indicated on these pages, more than likely you will lose out.  So how can you make sure that your company ranks high in a search?  When you entrust Solutio to create your website, we can make sure this happens for your site by providing writing that inspires, attractive page design and advanced design programming.

SEO Strategies

There are a number of things that we can do to ensure that your website will organically be ranked high during a search engine search.  There are no guarantees that you will be ranked number one, but we will make sure that your site naturally is effective.  The goal is to make sure that you gain visibility from all of the major search engine by using the keywords for your industry.  We know how search engines work and will strive to get you recognized by using:

•         Competitive Keyword Research
•         Content Writing
•         SEO Engineering

 

SEM

So far we have discovered that SEO is the “organic” way in which to ensure your website will be found on the major search engines.  But, what if your site still isn’t ranking very high?  That is where SEM comes into play.  Search Engine Marketing allows your company’s information to be “transplanted” into major search engines to gain a higher search ranking.  This allows your company’s website to be:

•         Be found on all major search engines, such as Google, Yahoo and Bing
•         Be listed on the first page or two of a search

PPC – Pay Per Clicks

Google has a type of advertising called Adwords.  After you have searched for a subject, you are presented with the search engines findings.  The search results that are listed at the top of the page, very bottom of the page as well as down the right hand side in yellow are paid ads.  By placing these ads, your business is listed front and center for potential customers to find.

 

 

Below – an example of what the user sees when a Google Adwords campaign is running:

 

How Do PPC’s Work?

As the name suggests, you only pay Google for the times your advertisement gets clicked on.  This is particularly attractive for companies because you are only paying for people who see your ads.  And you know that those seeing your Adwords campaign are your target customers because they are searching for companies like yours!