SEO vs SEM

Part of being a responsible business owner is trying to stay up to date with digital marketing buzzwords and tools. While you certainly do not need to become a web designer or expert to keep up (that’s what we are for!), it is important that you have a general knowledge so that you know how to lead your digital imprint.

When it comes to customers finding your website, you must be familiar with SEO and SEM. Here’s a quick breakdown of each, and how it can benefit your business.

Search Engine Optimization

When you personally search for something in your internet search engine bar and click “search”, you are greeted with pages full of sites that could meet your needs. Depending on your search, you could yield only one page of results or hundreds. You want your business to show up as near to the top as possible from any relevant searches.

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the process of using coding and other tactics to get your website to show up as near to the top of those first few pages of a relevant internet search. You already know that you probably don’t personally get to the tenth page of your search results, and optimizing your content can assure you at least have a fighting chance for having a customer notice your content.

Search Engine Marketing

SEO can get your webpage to the top of search engine results, but that is not the only intervention you should be using to gain online customers. Search Engine Marketing, or SEM, includes all digital tactics to get customers to your website. SEM includes SEO, as well as other approaches like Pay Per Click advertising, social media advertising, and updating content.

SEM includes services business owners pay for, but your digital marketing budget should mirror, if not exceed, your “in real life” marketing budget. After all, finding customers online is a major part of doing business these days.

Are you ready to add new strategies to your digital marketing plan? Don’t go at it alone. Let the team at Search SEO Chicago give you tips and tricks to reach potential customers and make your online presence look as good as your storefront. We would love to work with you and help you meet your goals. Let’s talk soon!