To answer this question let’s understand the differences between SEM & SEO.
SEM = Search Engine Marketing: is a process of gaining website traffic by purchasing ads through search engines (ex. Google, Bing, Yahoo!), then these ads achieve higher rankings to put your website at the top of the search results.
SEO = Search Engine Optimization: is the process of gaining website traffic from free organic or natural results on search engines. These results occur below the paid results.
Most companies use both SEM and SEO to provide maximum results. By using keywords, your business website may naturally populate (SEO results). If you would like to be ahead of the natural results, SEM allows your business to pay for ads, putting your business’ website on the top of the results list. Both search engine strategies can get results but in different ways. It depends if your business wants to invest in purchasing paid ads to help their website get displayed first.
SEM displays above SEO results, the cost of the results can depend on the competition and the results of the search are according to the budget set by the company. Google AdWords is a website management platform that supports paid ads on search engines. These ads are called PPC (pay per click), where the company will pay only when the searcher clicks on their ad. The further your company’s budget expands, the more options your company will have to spend on such clicks. The budget amount can be set by your company for a maximum price per day, per campaign. The PPC will never exceed the budget you set, but you can always pay less than the maximum price.
PPC clicks can cost less or to the extent of your maximum bid that you set for that keyword. Google AdWords is the auction based platform that determines how much a click costs. The actual cost of the click is influenced by the closest competitor, keyword ranking, and quality score. The average cost of a PPC in Google AdWords is between $1 to $2 dollars.
SEO is a set of rules that can be followed by the website company to optimize the website viewings. It also offers improved chances that the website will be found by the search engine using keywords set up by the website company. The goal of SEO is to obtain a high ranking placement in the search results of the search engine. The higher the ranking, the higher listed in the search results and a greater chance your website will be visited.
To learn more about how SEM & SEO can benefit your business contact us today! We have a variety of services to help grow your business and maximize your website potential. Call Advantage Marketing Solutions at (248) 912-1285.