SEO vs. SEM: What’s the Difference and Why Should You Care?

SEO and SEM are two commonly confused terms. SEO refers to Search Engine Optimization, while SEM refers to Search Engine Marketing. While the two are both powerful strategies that can drive a lot of traffic to your websites and web presence in general, there are key differences between them. In this article, we will go through these differences and highlight the best strategies for both.

Search engine optimization

Search engine optimization is the practice of using various strategies to boost organic traffic to your website. Tactics for improving SEO involve building backlinks or even increasing page speed. This helps your website rank higher in search engine results. When your page is ranked higher, the more likely people are to click on it, thus resulting in increased organic traffic to your website. SEO involves a number of different things but can be split up into three main types; on-page, off-page and technical SEO.

On-page
This refers to the optimization of individual web pages. The goal of this type of SEO is to make that page rank as high as possible for as many keywords as possible. The main method of doing this is by creating high-quality content. This includes having a topic with a lot of depth, having content that is easy to read, and making sure that the content matches user search intent. Using tags and keywords can also help. This involves having URLs that are short and descriptive, title tags and meta descriptions that describe the content of the page and keywords that are relevant to the page in important positions such as the header or subheadings.

Technical
Technical SEO is the practice of improving the user experience of your website. This involves making sure that the website is properly optimized for use. Aspects such as page speed and loading time, mobile friendliness, responsive designs, and logical URL structures are key to making your website more efficient. With poor user experiences, fewer people are likely to stay on your website so Google actively recommends improving these aspects of your website.

Off-page
Off-page SEO doesn’t involve modifying your own pages to boost search rankings. Instead, it involves other pages. This can include using backlinks which are links on other authoritative websites that link back to your website and thereby boost your ranking as Google sees your website as more legitimate. Other ways of improving off-page SEO include optimizing your Google My Business listing and earning positive reviews for your products or services.

Search Engine Marketing

SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing and involves gaining paid traffic to your website from search engines. This involves paying for ads, most commonly using Google Ads. Users will create an ad with a specific goal, set a budget for the ad and then define the keywords they would like to appear in the paid search results section for. Popular keywords will often cost more per click than keywords with less search volume. Many people get confused with SEO and SEM as SEM is a term used to also include organic traffic. However, now, it typically refers to just paid traffic.

So do you need both SEO and SEM?

You will need to use both SEO and SEM for different purposes. SEM is capable of generating fast results, as you will immediately start to generate traffic. However, SEM costs a lot of money as well.

However, even though SEM traffic is immediate, in order to optimise your conversion rate, your SEO will also come into play. For one, your site needs to perform well, as while paid ads might get users into your website, it is no guarantee that they will stay there. Perfecting your technical SEO and ensuring that you have high-quality content that matches user search intent can ensure that users stick around on your website, thereby increasing the chances of conversion.

But why is organic traffic so important?

So while SEM can be a great way of getting quick results, SEO is more of a long-term strategy to ensure that you are making the most of your ads, but also in terms of building authority for your website. Ranking for organic search results can keep website traffic high for months, all free of charge. Thus, your best chances of online success come from using SEO in conjunction with SEM.

SEM and SEO in Singapore

Search engine marketing and search engine optimization in Singapore are two incredibly important aspects of digital marketing that require a lot of planning, implementation and continuous monitoring. W360 Group is a digital marketing company in Singapore that specialises in SEO and SEM, along with everything you need to perfect your digital marketing strategy. With W360 Group, you can maximize your ROI with the best SEO practices and the best SEM practices for your business. So get ready to rank at the top of the search results!