SEO vs. SEM: Main Differences and Impact on Your WordPress Website

by Vipe Team in WordPress SEO; Published on 01.03.2022

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SEO and SEM are two alternative marketing channels that companies may employ to reach their target audiences on search engines like Google and Bing. However, our WordPress Agency for Development has noticed that the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably by people. This is obviously wrong.

If you have chosen a professional WordPress website development for your business, you’re probably no stranger to the concept of SEO. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a must-have strategy for companies looking to increase website traffic and visibility. This is not so simple to achieve, though, as if you don’t know how to contrast or mix SEO with Search Engine Marketing (SEM) things can get rather confusing.

Our WordPress development agency understands that SEO and SEM may appear to be the same thing for people who are just starting their journeys into the digital world. This is why we want to stress from the very beginning that they are actually two completely distinct techniques. They both share the same end goal, though, and that is increasing your business’ visibility on the SERPs (search engine results pages).

Don’t worry – once you’ve been told the distinction between the two, you’ll have no problem using the techniques in the best way possible. This is why, in today’s article, our WordPress development company will explain each term in detail, and we’ll outline the main differences between the two. Let’s go and learn more about SEO and SEM!

What Is the Difference Between SEO and SEM?

Once you’ve completed the process of WordPress website development, you’ll need to start strategizing about how to improve your company’s online presence. Before you can do that, though, you have to first get familiar with the terminology of the digital space and understand what specific terms mean.

The last thing you want to happen is to risk your authority by using incorrect descriptions in strategy papers distributed to others. Mistakes like these might hurt your chances of getting budgets and strategies authorized.

With that being said, our WordPress agency for enterprise can give you the following easy explanation of the terms SEO and SEM that are the two main areas within the search marketing industry:

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a strategy used to improve rankings in search results and drive organic traffic.
SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is a marketing strategy that involves paying for higher placement in search results.

We need to point out that the concept of SEM is frequently debated and contradicted. For instance, some sources define SEM as a broader search channel that includes both organic and sponsored results. However, the conventional opinion is that SEO is concerned with organic search, whereas SEM is focused on sponsored search.

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Having that in mind, let’s take a closer look at these two strategies, focusing on what makes them so distinct.

What Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

Our WordPress Agency for Development likes Jason Barnard’s definition of SEO. He defines it as the art and science of persuading search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo to promote your content as the best answer to their users’ problems.

SEO’s Four Fundamental Elements

Marketers use SEO to improve their websites by combining technical SEO, on-page SEO, content production, and off-page SEO. Our WordPress development agency reminds you that these tactics are used to produce the best result for a certain query that deserves to be ranked first on Google.

Here are a bit more details about each of these main pillars or elements:

Technical SEO serves to strengthen a website’s technical structure. It is used for improving things like site speed, structured data, crawlability, indexing, security, and mobile friendliness.
On-page SEO refers to optimizing elements on a web page that visibly assist search engines in grasping the content in context. Factors that are being optimized with on-page SEO include title, H1 and meta tag optimization, picture alt tags, and so on.
Content is one of Google’s primary ranking criteria. Our WordPress development company warns you that you’ll fail to rank in the top positions if your content doesn’t fit the searcher’s intent. Don’t think of content as simple copywriting. Valuable content always requires a well-thought-out plan.
Off-page SEO includes link building and other strategies aimed at increasing authority. This strategy seeks to maximize a website’s trustworthiness and authority in the eyes of search engines and people by linking it to other high-authority and relevant websites. When search engines notice that users trust a website, they are more likely to give it a better ranking.

Our WordPress agency for enterprise reminds you that all four of these pillars must be present in order for an SEO strategy to be successful. Working with experts in each of these areas to develop a sound plan that promotes success is your safest bet.

What Is Search Engine Marketing (SEM)?

You’ve probably heard of PPC (pay-per-click), right? Well, PPC and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) are actually the same things. In a nutshell, SEM is a paid-for approach for increasing search engine visibility.

Rather than employing strategies that assist a website’s organic ranking, SEM leverages PPC advertising platforms like Google Ads and Bing Ads to reach your target audience using the various ad formats.

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Our WordPress Agency for Development can tell you that as a technique, SEM entails everything from creating and optimizing sponsored advertisements to administering the account to enhance conversions and profits.

SEMs would often start a campaign by conducting extensive keyword research and competitive analysis in order to construct focused campaigns that put their products and services in front of a specific audience.

Examples of SEM campaigns you can do after you complete your WordPress website development include:

Text ads
YouTube ads
Display ads
Gmail ads
Shopping ads

All of these formats are accessible in Google Ads, and they may all help you reach your target audience.

Users will see a personalized ad, generally at the top of the SERPs, when they search for certain keywords that the advertiser is targeting. You pay every time the ad is clicked by users of the search engine.

The Advantages of SEM

The main advantage of SEM over SEO is the quick results you can achieve with the first one as opposed to the latter. While SEO might take months to show rewards, SEM can get you clicks and conversions in a matter of days.

Our WordPress agency for enterprise recommends the SEM approach to those of you who want to have complete control over when and who sees your advertising. This makes the channel ideal for experimenting with new ideas, driving visitors to a sale, or boosting traffic during slower periods.

We recommend you don’t view SEO and SEM as separate channels. Think of them as two parts of a larger digital strategy that focuses on increasing exposure, traffic, and conversions through the usage of search engines.

Which One Should You Use: SEO or SEM?

If you’re wondering whether to use SEO or SEM, you should know that the right tactic depends entirely on your specific objectives.

Our WordPress Agency for Development recommends you take into consideration various factors, such as:

Your exact goals
Your current level of performance
Your margins
Your customers’ lifetime value

This, however, presupposes that you will only utilize one of these channels. The truth is that a good search strategy for most companies should include both SEO and SEM. Once you complete your WordPress website development, these two effective marketing channels can bring up a plethora of options to generate growth from potential clients looking for businesses that are similar to yours.

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Using SEO and SEM as a Powerful Combo

The biggest advantage of using both SEO and SEM is that you get to merge two really powerful channels that can do wonders for your business performance. When leveraging the full capacity of the two channels, you can experience benefits, such as:

Utilize data from your SEM campaign to better your SEO strategy. You can gain important insights into anticipated conversion rates, keyword performance, and traffic projections. Our WordPress development agency considers SEM to be a staging ground for SEO in this regard.
Create remarketing campaigns as part of your SEM plan to attract people who previously did not convert into buyers. This can further improve your SEO efforts.
By combining these two strategies, you can dominate the SERPs and ensure that you are noticeable in both the paid and organic rankings.

Track Your Competitor’s SEO and SEM

Our WordPress development company can also suggest you keep an eye on what your competitors are up to. Doing a regular competitor’s research will help you gain a better understanding of their SEO performance and their advertising strategies.

Examine your rivals’ organic rankings and devise a strategy to outperform them in the SERPs. Analyze their sponsored activities and the keywords they’re using to drive traffic to their websites.

We remind you that once you complete your WordPress website development, the more you study your competitors’ techniques, the more effective yours will be.

Leverage the Power of SEO and SEM to Increase the Profitability of Your WordPress Website!

It seems like there isn’t a straight consensus when it comes to SEO and SEM. The two terms are either used interchangeably, or they are sometimes misunderstood as two distinct channels that cannot be utilized simultaneously.

Our WordPress agency for enterprise believes it’s critical that you grasp the objective of each of these as part of your overall marketing strategy. We strongly recommend you find out how to combine the two to gain a competitive edge and achieve maximum success.

Still don’t have a website where you can experiment with SEO and SEM strategies? We can help!

Vipe Studio offers a professional WordPress website development service that can cater to the specific needs of businesses of all shapes and sizes, including enterprise-level organizations.

Our friendly team of experts will take care of all technical aspects of your website so you can concentrate your efforts on expanding your business. Send us your inquiry to help us get better acquainted with your project!