Over 60% of marketers are struggling to generate leads. In fact, nearly 80% of the leads you do generate won’t convert into sales. If you’re not generating leads and sales, your business won’t grow! 

Before the competition gets the chance to take the lead, consider using SEM and SEO.

What’s the difference between SEM vs SEO, exactly? Keep reading to find out. After reading this guide, you can determine which strategy suits your needs.

Discover how to boost your business with SEM and SEO today!

What is SEM?

Before we compare SEM vs SEO, let’s look at the two separately. What is SEM?

Search engine marketing is a combination of different strategies, including:

  • Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
  • Geotargeting
  • Video ads
  • Display advertising
  • Shopping ads
  • Remarketing
  • Search engine optimization (SEO)

That’s right; SEO is a type of SEM.

SEM and SEO can help your website rank higher on search engines like Google. When someone looks for your product or service, your website can appear. With a search engine marketing strategy, you can generate awareness, traffic, and leads.

SEM strategies like PPC are paid strategies. You’ll pay when someone clicks on a link to your website.

What is SEO?

What is search engine optimization, then?

SEO is an organic search engine marketing strategy. You can use SEO to boost where your website content ranks on Google. You’ll need to gather keyword research and create fresh content to develop an SEO strategy. 

Unlike SEM strategies such as PPC, however, SEO is organic. You won’t pay when someone clicks on a link to your site. 

The Differences

What is the difference between SEM vs SEO?

The biggest difference is the cost. Remember, you’ll have to pay when someone clicks on a digital SEM ad. With SEO, you can’t pay Google to improve your ranking.

SEM strategies can generate faster results, too. For example, you can use PPC to appear at the top of a search page within a day. With SEO, on the other hand, you’ll need time to improve your rankings.

You don’t have to choose between SEM and SEO, though. Instead, consider the benefits of SEM and SEO together.

About 68% of all online activity starts with a search engine.

SEM can help you appear in front of consumers immediately. They’ll click on a link to your website, helping you draw more traffic. Google will notice you’re generating traffic, which can boost your SEO ranking.

With both strategies, you can boost brand awareness and remain top-of-mind. You can generate website traffic to demonstrate your expertise. Then, you can start boosting leads and sales!

Both SEM and SEO can improve your ROI for years to come. 

Consider working with an experienced digital marketing agency. They can help you use both strategies to boost business.

SEM vs SEO: Your Guide to a Higher Search Engine Ranking

To recap, what’s the difference between SEM vs SEO? The biggest difference is SEM includes paid strategies, while SEO is organic. Using both could help you reach more customers online, though. 

Need help using both SEM and SEO this year? We can help.

Contact our team today to get started.