SEO.SEM.SMM.
Have these three acronyms been flying around so much lately that they’ve begun to sound like they mean the same thing?
They don’t. And it’s the #1 reason why many small business owners waste valuable time and money when they’re just starting in digital marketing. The other day, I had another new client ask me, "Should I be focusing on SEO or should I just run some ads?" If you’ve asked me this question (or are about to), the honest answer is - it depends!
In this post, let’s break down exactly what SEO, SEM, and SMM mean, in plain English, so you can understand where your budget and energy should really be going.
What Is SEO? When Will I See Results?
If your business is about to turn a blind eye toward SEO, know this: It will probably never work.
Here's a look at what seo does... SEO (Search Engine Optimization) In my humble opinion… It’s the practice of improving your website so that it can be found on search engines such as Google, and it is totally the opposite of paying for ad clicks and views to get a #1 ranking. SEO takes time and patience.
Generally speaking, you won't see results for between 3-6 months.
This approach doesn’t mean immediate sales, although eventually SEO will provide consistent, long-term traffic from the top of the search page.SEO has a compounding impact on traffic to your website because the better you rank, the more eyeballs will be on your site. It's also a lot less costly over the long term, since SEO doesn't require paying for ad space – you get free clicks as a result of your excellent ranking. SEO can improve the content on your website as well as the link profile and, in turn, site speed and functionality. This means you will also build a better, faster, more mobile-friendly website in the process.
SEO makes sense for your business if: • You’re thinking long-term and are prepared to invest 3-6 months in time to gain traffic without continued financial investment.
- You can wait 3-6 months to see a significant impact on traffic and leads. • You have time to devote to keyword research, content creation, and building backlinks. • SEO has already become something your competitors are doing, and they have a significant ranking in the Google search results.
What Is SEM? How fast can you be in business?
Here's a look at SEM and the types of results it provides...
SEM (Search Engine Marketing) SEM or search engine marketing is a comprehensive marketing strategy.
It includes both the SEO process and pay-per-click marketing, like Google Ads. You need to have paid traffic to your website for SEM; these ad results will be listed at the top of the search engine result pages and highlighted with "ad" text or "sponsored." SEMs are useful if you are not in this space to get ranked organically. Paid SEM will bring you to the top of the results instantaneously.
Some of the benefits of using SEM are: • immediate exposure for a quick gain.
- It's a cost-effective solution if you have an upcoming sale or event. • Your site may show up in the Google results in a split second, so that potential clients can find you now instead of waiting 3-6 months. • Your ads may appear above organic SEO results, thereby placing your brand above those who rank organic, thereby increasing visibility even higher in the results page.
SEM makes sense for your business if: • You’re in need of instant results and can't afford to wait months to gain clients. • You’re running promotions, special offers, or launching new products or services, and need to drive immediate attention and traffic. • You want to test your product or service on the search engine before committing the time and effort of SEO development.
- Your competition is already doing SEM, and you need to get the edge.
What Is SMM? How are people finding the new "hot spots"?
If your business isn't being promoted in social media now, it's definitely time to step in to learn more... SMM (Social Media Marketing). SMM is generally used to define both paid social media ads and free social media posts to reach social media users.
It's based on knowing who your customers are and where they go to hang out on social media to help get exposure for your business and gain customers.
This also requires you to be engaging with customers in a personal and engaging way so that you have them interact with and continue to develop relationships with your business. This can have very similar impacts on brand and brand recognition, such as SEO, but to take an instant bite out of business growth, you'd again go to social media ads. SMM makes sense for your business if: • Your product or service would do well with visual advertising on Facebook, Instagram, etc., and would benefit from this medium.
- You are interested in brand building and getting more word of mouth. • You’re a start-up and want an affordable marketing channel for immediate results (through ads). • You’re looking to build customer relationships, generate leads from new audiences, and retain existing ones.
So Which One Is Right?
The answer is - none and all of them! There isn't a perfect "one-size-fits-all" answer here. When all is said and done, a true multi- channel approach works best. In other words, all three components usually make sense in a comprehensive business plan; it's just that most small businesses tend to favor one area in the short- term while planning to expand into others.
If you're a new startup, a good place to start would be SEM for immediate sales and SMM for the purpose of building brand awareness.
As your brand builds up momentum, you would also consider developing your SEO strategy for the coming years. If you're a more established brand that already gets traffic, you may wish to take a closer look at SEM or use retargeting on social media ads to improve conversion rates on your website and capture sales. If you have long-term growth goals, and your business is poised to wait out SEO development for 3 to 6 months for cost-effectiveness in the long run, you should begin by focusing on building out your SEO.
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