Learn the Difference between Search Engine Optimisation and Search Engine Marketing

A Guide to Content Marketing for SEO
July 23, 2018
Search Engine Optimisation in Sydney
White Hat SEO vs. Black Hat SEO—Which is Better?
August 24, 2018
Show all

Learn the Difference between Search Engine Optimisation and Search Engine Marketing

digital marketing consultant Perth

Digital Marketing Consultant Perth

Seo Perth

Seo Perth

With over one billion websites populating the web and new being added to the list daily, it is not easy to get found by your target audience or to sustain a high rank in the top SERPs. To stay ahead of the competition, you need to have a sound knowledge of online marketing so that you know exactly what steps to take and when in order to survive and thrive over the web. 

When it comes to competing online, search engine marketing and search engine optimisation in Perth are crucial for success. How you use and incorporate both of these strategies in your digital marketing mix is what will help you burst ahead of your competition and strengthen your online business positions. And that is what a digital marketing consultant in Perth can help you with. An experienced SEO expert in Perth knows how to strategically combine different online marketing techniques to achieve targeted results. ShgSeo can help you to achieve your business marketing goal.

Get Free Email Updates!

Signup now and receive an email once I publish new content.

I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )

I will never give away, trade or sell your email address. You can unsubscribe at any time.

The first step to online success is unbeatable search engine visibility and that is possible through SEO Perth and search engine marketing. These two strategies are different but they can both help get your business noticed by your target audience.

Now that we know that both strategies SEO and SEM are crucial to online success, let us dig deeper to understand the difference between the two and why do they matter so much….

Suggested for You  Seo Agency Brisbane - Be Wary of these SEO Lies...

What is SEO?

search engine optimisation Perth

Search Engine Optimisation Perth

SEO is the abbreviation of search engine optimisation. This is the process for ranking in the top search engine page results, organically.

Put simply, SEO helps increase search engine visibility which is much needed to get found by your target audience by getting organic traffic from the search engines.

Seo Perth is made up of two parts that require attention i.e. on-site and off-site activities.

On-site also is known as ‘on-page’ strategies consist of techniques like:

  • Optimised speed of pages on the site,
  • Optimised and well-written content,
  • URLs that are well-formatted and optimised with selective keywords,
  • Optimised meta data, and
  • Social-sharing integration within the content

Off-site strategies for SEO include:

A professional SEO Perth can help you identify the best combination of on-site and off-site strategies according to your targeted goals.

Suggested for You  Local Seo Melbourne

Why does Search Engine Optimisation Matter in Perth?

  •  Rank Higher in Google and Other Search Engines

Regardless of your industry, business size, or product and service quality, if you’re not listed in the first search engine result page (SERP), you’ll never be able to attract, connect and find targeted audience. This is where SEO plays a vital role.

Onsite and off-site SEO strategies can help you rank in the top searches for the most popular and relevant industry keywords.  And when you’re visible on the first page of your industry search, you’re able to attract qualified leads easily.

Did you know:

  • 33 percent of the traffic goes to the site that ranks on the one position and then the traffic degrades from there
  • 75 percent of the search engine users shop from companies listed on the first page and never scroll to the second search page result

By looking at these percentages, you can easily see how important SEO is for your online business.

  • Ensures Brand Elevation

SEO also plays a vital role in ensuring brand elevation. It does this by increasing brand awareness through increased search engine visibility.

Search engine optimisation helps secure a share of voice on the search engine page results. And this is a vital component for increasing brand awareness and creating brand trust.

  • Improves Conversion Rate

Studies show that 90% of the online shopping experiences begin through search engines and the traffic generated through search engines also convert better. This is because when you’re business is listed in the top searches, it instantly makes your business look credible and so they prefer to shop with you too which boosts your conversion ratio.

  • Helps Stay Competitive

SEO is an ongoing process. If you continue to optimise your website consistently, you’ll be able to compete with a winning edge as your business will be able to retain and sustain a position in the top industry searches.

Suggested for You  How Can I Increase Traffic To My Website For Free - 36 Techniques

SEM—What is SEM?

SEO expert Perth

SEO Expert Perth

SEM is the abbreviation for search engine marketing. This strategy is above and beyond SEO. This is an internet marketing strategy that focuses on getting both paid and unpaid traffic (organic and inorganic traffic). In other words, SEO is a part of search engine marketing.

You get organic traffic through SEO while inorganic traffic is attracted through paid search. You can pay one or more search engines to list your website in the result list. Commonly, these paid ads in search engine results are known as pay-per-click (PPC), however, there are a slew of terms that are used for paid search activities such as CPC (cost per click) ads, and paid search advertising.

Paid search ads allow businesses to attract targeted and qualified leads through powerful and compelling ad copy with keywords that match their search queries. These ads are listed next to organic results in SERPs.  This means that in paid search advertising you buy advertising space in the search engine results. So, instead of optimising your website through different techniques to rank higher and get free web traffic, you pay to appear in front of the local organic searches. AdWords management in Perth is by far the most well-known paid search ad campaign powered by Google.

Through AdWords management in Perth, you can get your business ads listed in Google search results and pay only when they are clicked. This is also why they are known as PPC ads (Pay-Per-Click). Yahoo and Bing also have a similar paid search ad campaign as Google but it is not as successful as AdWords.

How Does Paid Search Work?

Here’s how paid search or PPC ad campaigns work:

  • Account Creation

To get started, first you need to create an account on Google AdWords, and then create an ad on the ad network. Here you will also have to provide complete business information and how you will pay for these ads.

  • Select Targeted Keywords

Next step is keyword selection. This is important and crucial for the success of your ad campaign because the ads will be based on keywords and run accordingly. So when your audience searches for the keywords that you’re targeting, they’ll instantly see your ad in the search results. Therefore, choose your keywords wisely and relevant to your niche.

  • Bidding for Keywords

As the digital landscape gets overly aggressive, you will have to place bids for keywords that you want to target with other potential competitors. You will have to bid strategically so that you get to place your ad for that keyword but at the same time you need to make sure that the bid is not so high that you end up limiting your returns on investment.

  • Create Compelling Ad Copies

You must create a compelling ad copy with the targeted keywords so that they instantly grab the attention of your audience and make them click. Remember, you get paid only when the ad is clicked.

  • Determine Your Paid Search Budget

Determine your paid search budget so that you can have a structured periodic budget for advertising consistently and minimise cost overruns.

The two most popular search engine ad networks are Google AdWords and Bing Ads. Google AdWords allows you to run paid ads on Google search results and Bing Ads allow you to display ads on Bing. Here it is important to understand that your ad on Google AdWords will appear in the top SERPs in Google but not always on the 1st page. That’s right; to appear at the top and on the first page, you will need help from a professional who is an expert in AdWords management in Perth so that your ad ranks higher than your local competitors. The factors that determine ad rank include bid, ad relevance to the targeted keyword, landing page experience, and expected CTR (click through rate).

However, some of the steps that you can take to improve your paid advertisement rank increase the bid and improve ad quality.

Suggested for You  101 Effective Ways of Driving Insane Traffic To Your Website Using Social Media

SEO vs. SEM—Understanding the Main Difference

Like we said earlier, both strategies are crucial however, how and when you use them is what will help determine and define your online success.

Look SEO is no longer an option for online businesses. To stay competitive and sustain a high rank in the top SERPs for your industry, search engine optimisation is vital. SEO is a technique that helps your business get found and noticed by your audience for free.

Unlike SEM paid search ads,

  • You don’t have to bid for keywords when optimising your site organically,
  • You don’t have to pay if your site URL gets clicked, or
  • You don’t have to create an account on AdWords.

Simply get in touch with a digital marketing consultant in Perth and discuss your online marketing goals. According to your targets, the our expert will provide you with a strategic and well-rounded search engine optimisation plan with a proven mix of on-site and off-site techniques that work and deliver results.

You can rely solely on search engine optimisation if you’re a start-up or an SME with limited resources and budget.

However, if you’re a large enterprise or an industry giant, to retain and sustain your online business success search engine marketing (that includes both Paid search ads and SEO) will be your best bet. This is because paid search ads can often be expensive especially when the competition is tough for the keywords that you’re bidding for. In such a scenario, you will need plenty of cash to place a high bid so that your ad shows in the top searches and on the first page of the search engine results.

Advantage of Paid Ads

Besides this, paid search ads offer a plethora of advantages such as:

  • Contrary to Search engine optimisation which takes a long time to deliver results, with paid search ads you can generate qualified leads instantly.
  • Your business gets to enjoy guaranteed online visibility thereby boosting brand awareness.
  • It is quick to execute as it takes only a few hours to get a powerful and effective paid search campaign up and running on AdWords. However, these ads do require constant monitoring. You must properly monitor and optimise your campaigns to ensure best results.
  • It offers flexibility to optimise. This means that you can control every aspect of the ad such as ad copy, keywords, ad extensions, and even the landing page that you use for the ad. Based on the data collected in your AdWords account that shows the performance of your ad, your ad campaign manager can determine what approach is working and what isn’t—and thus optimise it accordingly.
  • Unlike SEO, paid search delivers measurable results. By connecting Google AdWords with Google Analytics, you can measure results for each ad, keyword and each user. You’ll be able to view high-level performance details such as clicks, impressions, and conversions all much needed to strategise in a better way and invest in keyword bidding more carefully and smartly.

For more information or assistance with search engine optimisation or SEM in Perth, get in touch with us now. We can help you get ahead of your competition and sustain a high rank for your industry relevant searches.