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SEO vs SEM?
Search engine optimisation (SEO) focuses on generating organic traffic from search.
Search engine marketing (SEM) includes SEO and Google Search Ads. Google Search Ads are a type of Google Ads.
SEM is sometimes used in conversations, in reference to Google Search Ads.
Google Search Ads focuses on generating web traffic by running search ads in search engines like google. Google ads use the pay per click (PPC) advertising model.
In this blog, I go through the differences between SEO and Google Ads.
Table of Contents
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1. What is SEO?
Search engine optimisation (SEO) focuses on optimising your web pages to rank higher in organic search results. SEO includes 4 key activities:
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Keyword research
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On-page SEO
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Technical SEO
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Off-page SEO
2. Pros of SEO
Once SEO starts delivering results, you get consistent organic search traffic to your website. Your target buyer will click on your web page or blog post, as long as you have quality content that addresses their needs.
The cost associated with doing SEO is lesser in comparison to paid search. Let’s say 2000 keywords gave you a traffic of 9000 visits per month. If you were to use paid search campaigns to get that traffic. You could end up paying $31,500 per month or $378,000 per year to get that traffic. Your SEO and content team expenses will be lesser than this.
You end up having a user friendly site with SEO. You are consistently optimising your website for your target buyer. Your target buyer will take an action that you want them to take (e.g. download a checklist or schedule a digital marketing audit).
3. Cons of SEO
SEO takes time to deliver results. SEO includes many activities like keyword research, on-page SEO, technical SEO and off-page SEO. All these activities take time to deliver results. You also have to create informative content to address buyer needs at different stages of the buyer’s journey and marketing funnel.
SEO requires ongoing optimisations. This is because you may require content updates and google may update its algorithms. This requires ongoing optimisations to your website pages and blog posts.
SEO requires quality content. Your content needs to adhere to the EEAT (experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness) concept. This can be a problem, if you have limited resources in your organisation. This means you will have to spend time and money to create quality content that adheres to EEAT.
4. What is Google Ads?
Google Ads are a digital marketing tactic where advertisers pay search engines like Google for placing ads on search engine results pages (SERPs). Google Search ads (Google Search Ads are a type of Google Ads) enables you (advertisers) to display your website or landing page at the top of search results.
5. Pros of Google Ads
Google Search Ads (Google Search Ads are a type of Google Ads) delivers immediate results. It is faster to set up a paid search campaign. You can create an account in a platform like google ads and start running a paid search campaign.
Google Search Ads allows you to quickly experiment. You can set up a Google Search Ads campaign. You can run A/B tests and see if something is working or not. In contrast, SEO takes time to give you results. It can also be hard to attribute specific SEO outcomes to specific SEO activities that you completed.
Google Search Ads also gives you high visibility in search engine result pages. Your ad will be displayed higher in search results (i.e. above organic search results), if you choose the right keywords and your ad has a good quality score. This gives your website high visibility while your target buyers are searching for products or services that are similar to yours.
6. Cons of Google Ads
Google Search Ads (Google Search Ads are a type of Google Ads) can be quite expensive in the long run. If you are a business in an industry that has high cost per clicks (CPCs) for keywords, this can become quite expensive very quickly. You will stop seeing results, as soon as you switch off your paid search campaigns. In contrast, SEO will continue to generate organic web traffic and leads.
Google Search Ads listings are prefixed with the words ‘Ad’. This may deter some buyers from clicking on them as they don’t trust your business. This might be the first time, they are seeing an ad from your business.
Google Search Ads also comes with a huge learning curve as platforms like google ads are some what complex. It might take a few attempts to create a paid search campaign that generates results for your business.
7. When to use SEO?
Use SEO if you want to build a consistent flow of web traffic. SEO is a long term strategy. Once you keywords start getting ranked and your web pages get to the top of search results, you will get a consistent flow of web traffic. If you continue doing your SEO optimisations, you will stay at the top of search results and will get consistent organic traffic to your website.
Use SEO if you want to build an authoritative website. An authoritative website is where your target buyers will go when they need information on a particular topic. You can position your business as an expert for a particular topic.
8. When to use Google Ads?
Use Google Search Ads (Google Search Ads are a type of Google Ads) if you want immediate results. Your Google Search ad is immediately shown to your target buyers, once you setup a Google search ad campaign and your ad is approved by google ads. Google Search Ads are good for product launches, time sensitive offers and event promotions.
Use Google Search Ads if you want to lead search results for keywords that are specific to your product or service category. The first few search results get most of the website clicks. If you want to grab your share of website clicks, then use Google Search Ads.
Conclusion
Search engine optimisation (SEO) focuses on getting traffic from organic search. Google Ads focuses on generating web traffic by running Google Search Ads in search engines like google. Google Search Ads use the pay per click (PPC) advertising model.
SEO and Google Ads are digital marketing tactics that businesses needs to consider in their digital marketing strategy. Deciding between the two is dependent on your product, your marketing goals, your budget and other factors discussed above.
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Are you looking to build trust with your buyer by addressing their needs at different stages in the buyer’s journey? Are you looking to raise brand awareness and generate quality leads for your business by improving your website visibility in search? Are you looking to attract buyers to your website and convert quality leads into customers?
If you answered yes, we can help! We are an inbound digital marketing agency, search engine marketing agency and content marketing agency based in Sydney, Australia. We are innovators and marketers with expertise in:
1. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
Are you looking to drive revenue growth from organic search? We write engaging content that ranks higher ⬆️ on search engines, increases web traffic 🚦 and generates quality leads 👑 for your business! Our SEO campaigns utilise ‘target keywords’ used by prospective buyers, has potential to increase search engine rankings and organic traffic in the long term.
2. Google Ads.
Are you looking to drive revenue growth from Google Ads? We create paid search campaigns that increases web traffic 🚦 and generates quality leads 👑 for your business! Our google ads management services includes a paid search audit and paid search campaigns (Google Ads - formerly Google AdWords).
3. Email Marketing.
Are you looking to drive revenue growth from email marketing? Our email marketing services in Sydney will enable you to nurture leads who are interested in your products or services. We write engaging content that increases web traffic 🚦 and generates sales opportunities 👑 for your business! Our email marketing services uses a human centred design approach to understand your target audience, has potential to increase website traffic and generate sales conversations in the long term.
Are you looking to drive revenue growth from content marketing? We create content prototypes to find out what message resonates with your target audience and how your product messaging is perceived by them. We write quality content to address buyer needs at different stages of the buying journey and marketing funnel - content audit, content marketing strategy, content management. Our SEO content writing services includes website content, blog posts, videos, webinars and email marketing.
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Anees Misbahudeen | Digital Marketing Director & Founder at INNMCO
