SEO and SEM - what are the differences and what are they about?

Getting your website ranked as high as possible on search engines, with a particular focus on Google, has a key impact on the bottom line of your e-business. To be visible to your audience, however, it is essential to know what SEO and SEM are and how and when to apply them. With this guide, this will definitely become easier!

SEO and SEM - key differences

One of the ways of standing out above the competition is Search Engine Optimisation - SEO. SEO involves positioning a website so that it ranks as high as possible in organic search results. In other words, paid campaigns that present it as a sponsored link are not used to position the site at the top.

SEO marketing does not have to cost absolutely nothing, although the task of professional website positioning can be outsourced to specialists for a fee. In the case of Search Engine Marketing (SEM), there is no choice path. Improving the online visibility of a business using this method always involves costs. How big are these expenses? It is impossible to give a clear answer to this question. Successful brand promotion is influenced primarily by the advertising budget. For this reason, it is much easier for large players in a given sector to show themselves. The market sector itself is also important. Wherever there is a lot of competition (and a wealthy one at that), the amount of money spent on campaigns must necessarily be greater.

Search engine marketing can also be carried out in two ways. It is worthwhile to use the basics of SEO, i.e. optimising content (website content) for keywords, linking and ensuring its quality with regard to usefulness of information. If the finances of the e-business allow it, it is best to add SEM campaigns to these activities, which give quick results. This strategy ensures constant building of the site's visibility, cyclically supported by an artificial (non-organic, paid) lift.

What is SEO? What is search engine optimisation?

Optimising a website to be found high in search results takes into account technical issues and matching content to user queries. Due to the dominance of the Google search engine, this is the focus of SEO campaigns. What is it and where do you start? In the first instance, the focus should be on making the website perform as well as possible. It should load quickly and display correctly on both computers and mobile devices. By doing so, you gain doubly. Firstly, search engine algorithms promote such a site at the expense of those that perform less well. Secondly, it increases the chance that a potential customer will view the content, rather than leave the site discouraged by the wait for content to load.

Complementing SEO efforts is relevant content. What does this mean? The content on the website should include words and phrases that are in line with the queries typed into Google by internet users. The search engine giant is also increasingly bold about the quality of content. For this reason, keywords alone are not enough. They must be embedded in customer-relevant content, such as product descriptions. These can be given additional marketing value by convincing the consumer that it is right to choose a product or service from this website rather than from a competitor.

The importance of content can easily be seen in the additional content provided on company blogs and other online venues. Articles that provide readers with answers to their questions, advice or simply interesting facts help to attract and retain customers. They not only visit the site and learn about the company's offerings, but may also return to read more interesting content.

Google also recognises content with links as valuable content. This is done in order to promote the website by building up its so-called authority. In other words, links placed on a number of external sites signal to the search engine that the target site is recommended and thus worthy of being displayed as high as possible. Internal linking, i.e. linking to further pages of one's own online shop or service portal, also has good effects.

SEM - search engine marketing and characteristics

SEO and SEM do not necessarily go hand in hand, but it is worth using both. This is because search engine optimisation falls within the definition of marketing, but it is not exhaustive. The rest of the activities are Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns, i.e. promoting websites for money. These give immediate results in the form of links placed at the top of the search results. This increases the chances of an internet user seeing them, which in turn can translate into increased sales.

However, Google Ads, i.e. just promoted links to websites, involve the need to set aside additional funds from the company budget. For this reason, many online businesses opt for time-limited promotional campaigns. These are useful for, among others, new companies or those who want to present items recently added to their offer. It is also common practice to showcase products and services at certain times of the year. For example, a shop selling ski equipment may benefit from paid advertising in autumn and winter, but will not need it in summer.

SEO vs SEM - how much do online activities cost?

The differences between SEO and SEM boil down to the time it takes to see the effects of the actions taken. In the case of optimisation, you have to wait a few months, but a website retains its high position in the search listings for a long time. SEM positioning has an immediate effect, but only until a paid campaign is running. For this reason, it is difficult to say exactly how much both types of online marketing cost and which one is more expensive. SEM costs more mainly when optimisation is done without the help of a specialist agency.

However, positioning yourself for organic query results is time-consuming. For small businesses, it can even be difficult to do. This is why many entrepreneurs choose to contract SEO service providers. What is it and what scope of activities does it cover? This already depends on the requirements of the e-business. Agencies improving the visibility of online traders can only improve the technical aspects of a website, as well as organise a months-long promotional campaign including the publication of sponsored content.