SEO and SEM Strategies: Find Common Ground for Leveraging Search for Your SMB
If you have a business, your company is likely employing both search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) to drive new business to your online site or to remind previous customers of positive experiences in the past. Careful attention to these strategies can amplify all your marketing efforts, helping you build your brand.
The Clear Benefits of SEO and SEM
Many marketers focus on the differences found in SEO vs. SEM, but they share many benefits for your company. SEO and SEM strategies revolve around getting more customers to visit, which helps to increase conversion rates for the people who come to your site. That means increased revenue for your company, which is the ultimate goal of almost all marketing campaigns. Any campaign that combines both SEO and SEM into a single cohesive push is likely to see enhanced results from both.
The Latest Developments in Search Engine Campaigns
Tracking increased revenue, click-through rates and visitor-to-buyer conversion rates is easier with software that can break SEO and SEM campaigns into component processes. Today’s tracking software provides Web site update alerts along with side-by-side comparisons to help you get the most out of your SEO and SEM investments. Tracking and analyzing the return on investment will allow you to reinvest wisely and see how SEO vs. SEM techniques are working in your specific market.
Potential Pitfalls and Unforeseen Costs
While SEO and SEM pushes can have great benefits, they can also involve some serious risks. When you modify your site for SEO, you risk accidentally making changes that push down your ranking in organic search instead of increasing it. Search engine algorithms change all the time, and it falls on your Webmaster or marketing team to stay on top of those changes to keep your ranking high. Likewise, SEM techniques, which rely heavily on selecting the right keywords and placing bids for paid search placement, can quickly become outdated in today's ever-changing marketing environment. The costs of keeping up with changes in the marketplace can grow exponentially if you fall behind the curve, and it may cost more to catch up with competitors who have remained on top of changes than to maintain updated SEO and SEM campaigns.
Your site's ranking in search engine results has the potential to drive a lot of business. Constantly staying on top of SEO and SEM tactics and changes in the marketplace, as well as monitoring your own related successes, can help you remain ahead of the pack and move your business forward.