SEO vs SEM – What’s The Difference? Which Is Better?
Many people confuse these two terms and use them interchangeably but there is a difference between SEO and SEM. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a component of search engine marketing (SEM). It is the act of optimizing a website for organic or natural search engine listings. Search engine optimization is one of the most cost-effective functions of a search engine marketing campaign, but it is only one element of SEM.
Search engine marketing (SEM) is the act of marketing a website via search engines, whether by improving rank in organic or natural listings, paid or sponsored listings or a combination of both.
A comprehensive search engine marketing campaign includes the following functions:
- Search engine optimization
- Search engine and directory submission management
- Paid inclusion and trusted feed programs
- Pay-for-placement management (includes pay-per-click)
- Link popularity / reputation development
- ROI and performance monitoring and reporting
Now that you know the difference, here are some of the strengths and weaknesses of SEO and SEM.
SEO – PROS
- Organic listings are a trusted source of information, believed to be unbiased and indexed solely by the automated methods of an objective third-party
- Natural search traffic provides a steady stream of traffic over time
- Costs are frontloaded; once pages are optimized for organic search, low ongoing maintenance fees make it cost-efficient for marketers on a limited budget
SEO – CONS
- Organic results can be unfocused in their content and occasionally misconstrued through automation
- There’s little control over which terms your pages will be linked with or how well they get ranked
- Relatively low control over your listing copy – automated technology decides what’s displayed
- Organic listings have to be optimized well in advance of the intended pay-off and require great insight to production efforts down the road
- Engine requirements can be at odds with site design and architecture; it is often difficult to present information that is both accessible to search spiders and carefully designed to influence consumer behavior
For these reasons, it becomes important to actively monitor organic listings and brand rankings within. There is no substitute for a proper SEO program and the natural traffic it provides.
SEM – PROS
- Paid traffic comes with a measure of predictability, allowing marketers to forecast both volume and cost-efficiency for relevant metrics
- The free-market bidding system offers full access to a target audience and the opportunity to scale campaigns and pursue them aggressively, creating synergies with sales promotions
- Paid traffic can provide a boost to site volume when most needed
- Creative is completely customizable, to further the user’s search intent and strategically position a brand within that search engine dialogue
- Paid listings are manually generated, and constructed with more awareness to the environment and a consumer’s true intent
- Sponsored ads are known to drive more sales than ordinary search links, converting at higher rates
SEM – CONS
- Paid listings can get very expensive across competitive keywords, where market forces can quickly inflate cost-per-clicks (CPC)
- A certain portion of the customer base is wary of paid listings.
In conclusion, search engine optimization is simply a component of search engine marketing. They are both important for managing and improving your website. We hope this has cleared up any SEO and SEM confusion.
Sofia Sapojnikova Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/seo-articles/seo-vs-sem-whats-the-difference-which-is-better-1782401.html
Vesta Digital
http://www.vestadigital.com
Onpage SEO, the best way to Boost your Webtraffic
Many marketers are too busy following the herd in the stampede for traffic that all their time is taken up building links. They are forgetting that the on page factors are vital in SEO.
These are quite simple for you to do and are something that should be fundamental when you create a new site. An ideal SEO friendly platform is WordPress.
The first step is for you to ensure you have set your title tag correctly. This has to be no longer than 64 characters. Any longer and it will be shortened and this will look very funny in the search engine listings.
The title tag needs to tell people what your site is about in such a way to entice them in to your website. It really should include a keyword that is specific for the page the title tag is on. All the pages on your site should have a title tag specific to it. You must not use the same title tag on every page.
Next are your meta keywords and meta description. These inform the search engine spiders about the content of your site. These are not overly relevant to the search engines as the majority of them analyze your site to determine what it is about.
These are of importance if you are using Adsense as if you don’t use these meta tags, you will discover your Adsense ads are not targeted to your niche.
The meta description is helpful because it appears in the search engine rankings. In this 150 characters you have to get people to click on your website. This sentence must be enticing and to the point.
Your meta keywords and description should also be unique for each page within your site.
All graphics on your website have what is known as ALT tags. These tags provide an alternative description for the visually impaired. These are looked at by the search engines and can get your images ranking well. Make sure you don’t assign the same keyword to too many ALT tags and add the word graphic, picture, image or something like it after the keyword. This is yet another indicator to the search engines that your webpage is related for those keywords.
Your header 1 or H1 tag needs to also include your main keyword. This is another indicator to the search engines that your site is important for that keyword.
Your site will rank well if you use your keyword and related keywords in the body of each page.
Just don’t try and squeeze too many keywords on to a single page as you may get yourself dropped by the search engines.
By performing some simple on page SEO optimization you can gain the advantage in the search engines. Not all marketers do this and so this could give you the edge over your competition!
There are some other very effective tactics to attract more Traffic to your website beside onpage SEO, I highly recommend the Classifield Marketing Tactics package, revealing three highly effective Traffic generation tactics and the Free Traffic System, this system enables you to build massive backlinks and a steady stream of traffic to your website! Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/seo-articles/onpage-seo-the-best-way-to-boost-your-webtraffic-1274957.html
