When you hear the terms SEO, SEM, SMO, and SMM, do you get confused?
While these terms might be very confusing for a newbie, understanding what each term means is essential. I, too, was baffled when I got started.
Next, you might wonder why we need to know all these acronyms and how they will be helpful for my business?
The fundamental reason to employ all these techniques is to improve your website traffic & online visibility. Thus, helping you generate more revenue.
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How do you generate traffic to your website?
There are two ways of generating traffic to your website- one is through organic search (SEO) and the other through paid search (SEM). SEO is a free source, while SEM is paid one. So, which works better for you?
Before discussing organic vs. paid traffic, let us understand SEO, SEM, SMO & SMM and understand the difference between SEO, SEM, SMO & SMM.
What is SEO?
SEO Definition:
Google defines SEO as “the practice of improving website ranking in organic search results.” In other others, it is the process of optimizing your website through various techniques to rank higher on search engines. Therefore, improving your website visibility and traffic.
Purpose/Goal of SEO:
The purpose of SEO today is to acquire the search engine’s confidence by offering consumers what they desire. This is accomplished through the creation of websites that:
- They are quickly crawled & indexed and understood by search engines
- Solves the problems for the user
- Function as a source of information for other websites
How can you rank higher on search engines like Google?
The first and the most important thing is to create unique, high-quality content that can solve user queries. Secondly, you need to create high-quality backlinks from other relevant websites. Let’sLet’s discuss them in more detail.
Techniques used to rank higher on Search Engines:
1. Keyword Research: Identifying low competition & high-volume keywords is the key. If you are a beginner, then try to target long-tail keywords. Tools like Google keyword planner, Ahrefs, Uber Suggest will help you find relevant keywords.
2. SEO optimized quality content: “Content is the king.” Without high-quality content, you won’t be able to retain the user’s attention for a long time. Each webpage should have unique and easy-to-understand content with relevant keywords.
3. Meta Title & Description: Meta title is the page’s title that tells Google about the page. A meta description is a snippet of text that appears below the title in SERP. Each page should have a unique meta title & description with relevant keywords.
4. Link Building: It is linked with website authority. The more backlinks you have from the authority site, you gain more authority. More authority results in a higher ranking. Note: It is always recommended to have unique backlinks rather than backlinks from the same domain.
5. User-friendly website: Your website shouldn’t be slow and unresponsive.
All the above techniques can be broken down into two major categories- On-page SEO and Off-page SEO. On-page SEO involves making content relevant to the users through the use of keywords in the article. Off-page SEO involves building all quality backlinks from high-authority websites.
Challenges with SEO:
The major challenge with SEO is to stay updated. Search engines like Google regularly update their algorithm that might affect your rankings. It would be best if you adapted to this algorithmic change to continue ranking higher.
Also, remember not to follow any black-hat practices (unethical practicing to game the system); instead, rely purely on white-hat methods by creating high-quality content for the users. This will benefit you in the long term.
What is SEM?
Google defines SEM as “the use of online advertisement on SERPs to help users find your website. SEM often uses PPC(Pay-Per-Click), a bidding model that charges advertisers only when someone clicks on their ads.”
In simple words, SEM involves advertising on search engines like Yahoo, Google, Bing, among others.
SEM is the fastest way to show your website on top of search results. The results are shown above the organic results & each click on it will cost you a certain amount. (Known as Cost-Per-Click)
How does SEM work?
With SEM, you buy advertising space on search engines to appear on top of the results. You pay money based on the cost associated with the keyword you’re trying to rank for.
For example, if your target keyword is ”What is Digital Marketing’Marketing’ with a cost-per-click of $1, then for every click on your ads, you have to pay $1 to the search engines.
How to run/set up PPC campaigns/search engine ads?
To set up an ad for search engines, you have to use their dedicated ads manager. For example, for Google, you need to set up campaigns through Google AdWords.
The process to set up an ad campaign:
- Select your ad objective- traffic, engagement, sales, etc.
- Select your audience
- Setup budget
- Design creatives for the ad
- Performance measurement & optimization (the most crucial step)
Why is SEM important?
The SEM traffic is considered the most quality traffic since it is more targeted & specific. The users who land on your website have more conversion chances as the user intent is clear in SEM. The users land on your website not because you are reaching out to them, but they are trying to find something useful & important.
Difference between SEO & SEM:
Search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) are similar in that they both deal with digital marketing outreach on search engines such as Google and Bing.
However, SEO usually refers to internal, organic website optimization, whereas search engine marketing is more frequently known as paid media advertising. While SEO helps your website’s traffic grow naturally through algorithmic techniques, SEM generates traffic by placing advertisements on search engines.
SEO is a long-term game that will benefit you in the long run, provided you generate quality content regularly. At the same time, SEM gives you instant traffic but costs you money.
What is SMO?
By now, we have understood what SEO & SEM and the difference between SEO & SEM is. Let us discuss the following terminology in our article: SMO (Social Media Optimization).
SMO is a technique that helps you promote your product or service or a brand through various social media channels like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. This can be done by creating profiles on different social media channels & sharing content relevant to your website or business. SMO is designed to build trust within your online community.
One of the best definitions of SMO I felt was the one I read in one of the online forums. It is as follows-
“Social media optimization increases the visibility of your social media profiles, social networking activity, and published content, allowing it to be discovered by people looking for information and resources related to your content. Social media optimization increases traffic to your website or blog, makes it easier for others to share with their circle of influence, fosters a community around your brand, and makes it easier for search engines to index your social media profiles, social activity, and blog posts.”
Put simply; you need to optimize your website for social media sharing. This can be done by including social share buttons on the website, allowing easy content sharing.
Now, to understand more you can read our article on difference between SEO and SMO.
What is SMM?
It is the combination of Social Media Optimization and Social Media Advertising.
SMM=SMO+SMA
In simple terms, it refers to both organic & paid digital marketing efforts on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, etc.
It encompasses a wide range of activities & many consider it the future of Digital marketing.
While social media channels have become the hub of activity online in the modern era, this is where consumers engage in conversation with one another. Furthermore, it serves as a hub for business and brand engagement for large population segments.
Having a Facebook page is almost mandatory for digital marketing efforts in today’s online marketplace. It’sIt’s even better if you have multiple social media accounts on the right networks. Furthermore, posting relevant content regularly and cultivating an engaged audience of followers can significantly help your business grow.
Finally, paid social media campaigns have surpassed the effectiveness of equivalent efforts done on search engines. If you want to understand the difference between SMO & SMM, then you can read our article.
Influencer Marketing:
Social media is used for many “influencer marketing,” if not all of it. A brand contacts an influencer’s representation, such as Tony Robbins, and pays him to post a brand’s social media post. Though it is rarely labeled as such, influencer marketing is probably a subset of social media marketing.
Should you invest in organic traffic or paid traffic? (SEO vs. SEM)
The straightforward answer is BOTH! When it comes to business, there is no SEO vs. SEM debate. They are all two sides of the same coin; one takes time and effort, while the other takes money. Aside from Black Hat SEO, all of the techniques listed above are required if you want to improve your SERP rankings, visibility, and traffic. However, whether your campaign succeeds or fails is determined not by whether you use all of these techniques but by how effectively you use them. This necessitates the development of a solid business strategy. Some things to keep in mind are:
- Budget
- Short-term & long-term goals
- Quality vs. Quantity traffic
- Market competition
SEO SEM SMO SMM: Which is the right technique for you?
This is entirely dependent on your business objectives, but at the very least, you now understand the terms and can make an informed decision about which methods to employ.
The truth is that there is no definite answer to what works. The debate over SEO vs. SEM may perplex you indefinitely. You can only clear that.
No one can answer that except you. You launch one campaign, and it succeeds. Repeat the process. If a campaign fails, delete it or reshape it to better suit your needs. Finally, it’s about optimizing your website to improve the user experience to rank higher on search results pages, adding features that won’t get you banned, and implementing plugins that give you the most bang for your buck!
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