As businesses continue to shift their focus towards online channels, search engine optimisation (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) have become crucial tools in the digital marketing toolbox. However, these two practices are often seen as conflicting with each other, with each trying to outdo the other. This is far from the truth and it’s time for businesses to start harnessing the power of SEO and SEM together.
SEO and PPC can simply be viewed as two separate channels that require different methodologies and techniques. However, a well-rounded marketing strategy should include both. These work better when combined and will help grow your brand’s visibility while boosting traffic to your website and increasing sales. An integrated strategy, crafted and implemented correctly, will help achieve these goals in both the short & long term.
In this blog post, we will explore the benefits of using SEO and SEM together, providing tips on how to optimise your digital marketing strategy to achieve the best results. It’s time to break down the misconception of SEO and SEM being opponents and start harnessing the power of their synergy.
SEO & SEM – What is the Difference?
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) aims to improve your website’s visibility in search engines and ranking higher without having to pay for those spaces. There are many factors that search engines like Google & Bing take into account to position your website. Some of the main factors are authority, content relevance and content quality. To improve these and other factors, SEO focuses on implementing improvements on the website itself (On Page SEO) and actions focused on external factors such as number and quality of external linking (link building).
SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is the combination of tactics focused on increasing visibility on the search results page with paid ads managed through platforms such as Google and Microsoft Ads. SEM strategies help direct traffic to your website quicker than SEO and ads will also appear above organic listings, but that comes at a financial cost.
SEO & SEM – Two Sides of the Same Coin
Both channels use different techniques and tools to achieve the same goal – increasing traffic to your website and driving users to take a specified action (be it, purchasing a product or completing a different action). Therefore, the synergies between the two should be focused on how to achieve your goals in the most efficient way possible.
Benefits of SEO & SEM
The opportunities that both channels bring when combined can be extensive. However, here are a few examples of areas where both channels add value to each other:
Exchange of Data
With SEM we can identify specific customer insights on how people browse when looking for your product or service. This data can then be used to inform your marketing strategy, ad copy or content on site.
Marketing Efficiencies
Keywords are a fundamental part of SEM strategies, which makes sharing and interpreting data collected through both channels important in order to improve performance. One of the key factors in how much you pay for certain keywords is landing page relevance. SEO can help enrich the website content with relevant keywords which will in turn help both organic results and improve Google Ads campaigns by lowering the cost per click
Increased Visibility
By combining both SEO and SEM strategies, you can increase your visibility on SERPs. SEO helps to improve your organic rankings, while SEM can help you to appear at the top of the search results through paid advertising. By combining these two approaches, you can occupy more space on the search results page, giving your business greater visibility and increasing your chances of attracting clicks.
Keyword Research and Optimisation
Keyword research is a crucial component of both SEO and SEM. By identifying the keywords your target audience is searching for, you can optimise your website and ads to ensure they appear in relevant search results. By combining the data from both strategies, you can gain a better understanding of your audience’s search behaviour and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Increased Click-Through Rates
By utilising both SEO and SEM, you can increase your click-through rate (CTR) on search results pages. While SEO can help you appear higher in organic search results, SEM allows you to use compelling ad copy and call-to-actions to encourage users to click on your ads.
Improved Conversion Rates
SEO and SEM can also work together to improve your conversion rates. By using SEM to target specific keywords and audiences, you can attract highly relevant traffic to your website. Once users arrive on your site, your optimised SEO content can keep them engaged and encourage them to take action, such as making a purchase or filling out a contact form.
SEO and SEM Synergy Strategies
Now that we have the basics clear, it’s time to explain how to integrate strategies to create synergies between SEO and SEM:
Keyword Research
Both SEO and SEM rely on the use of keywords to drive traffic. By conducting comprehensive keyword research, you can identify the most effective keywords for both paid and organic search, ensuring that your SEO and SEM strategies are aligned.
Landing Pages
Creating high-quality landing pages for your SEM campaigns can also benefit your SEO efforts. By optimising these pages for search engines, you can improve their organic rankings, and improve the relevance and user experience for visitors.
Remarketing
Remarketing campaigns can help boost SEM efforts by targeting users who have already visited your site or engaged with your brand. By showing targeted ads to these users, you can increase the likelihood of conversion and drive more traffic to your site. While remarketing doesn’t directly impact SEO in terms of search engine ranks, it can indirectly contribute to the overall success of your SEO campaign due to increased brand exposure, leading to more branded searches and organic traffic.
Content Creation
Developing high-quality, informative content can also benefit both SEO and SEM efforts. By creating relevant and engaging content, you can increase your organic search rankings and provide valuable content for your SEM campaigns.
Analytics Integration
Finally, it’s important to integrate your analytics data to track the performance of both your SEO and SEM campaigns. By analysing the data from both sources, you can identify areas of improvement and refine your strategy for maximum impact.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while SEO and SEM are often seen as separate strategies, they can work together in a powerful synergy to enhance your overall digital marketing strategy. By combining the strengths of both approaches, you can increase your visibility, attract more traffic, and improve conversion rates. If you want to take your online business to the next level, consider incorporating both SEO and SEM into your digital marketing strategy.
We are experts in both of these services. If you’re looking for a strategic partner to provide SEO consulting services, or SEM services, contact us for a free consultation.
