SEO, SEM, ELO: should you know these terms and can they help grow your business? SEO is search engine optimization, SEM is search engine marketing, and ELO is Electric Light Orchestra, a mega-popular ’70s band.
The first two are vital to your business’s success, the latter may help you in a trivia contest. Read on to learn about SEM strategy, how it relates to SEO, and why it can boost your bottom line.
How to Use SEM Strategy in Your Business
SEO and SEM work closely together to harness the power of digital marketing in your business. They approach their marketing impact from different angles.
SEO is the combined actions you take as a company to optimize your website so it appears higher and organically on search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. This includes things like keyword usage on your website, responsive web design, and quick loading of pictures and videos.
SEM is paid marketing, where you pay Google, Yahoo, and Bling to find the right customers at the time they’re looking to buy.
SEM Terms
Even though you may think SEM is a new idea, you probably know it by different names: pay-per-click (PPC) or paid search ads. You can also think of it as your cost-per-click (CPC) or click-through rate (CTR).
SEM Is Social Media Advertising
In some cases, SEM can be social media marketing; but generally, it’s different. Social media marketing relies on content provided by the social media companies’ customer usage. SEM relies on keyword phrases used by potential customers.
Working as a Team
In today’s competitive world, if you want to get your company’s website noticed, SEO, SEM, and social media marketing need to work together. You can hire a search engine marketing agency, but there are some key items you can implement on your own.
Take a step back and look at all your marketing as a whole. SEM will drive customers to your site, then you can use social media ads to keep them thinking about you over your competitors. Consumers today use different channels of exposure before they buy.
The better your channels work together, the bigger bang you’ll get for your marketing dollars.
Install web traffic analytic software to understand who’s visiting your site and the conversion rate. Does it take 200 or 2,000 visitors a day to equal a new sale?
Finally, don’t let the idea of paid advertising prevent you from embracing SEM strategy. It can be really cost-effective if implemented correctly.
Understanding how all pieces of the internet landscape fit together, including SEM, can improve your bottom line.
Are You Ready to Launch Your Business?
You’ll need to integrate your SEM strategy into your overall business plan, but there are also other things you’ll need to know in order to optimize your success. We provide high-quality content that all entrepreneurs need as they conceptualize, launch, and grow their businesses.