30-second summary:
- What’s the difference between SEO and SEM?
- What are the elements of a successful search strategy?
- How can marketers choose a winning formula for their business goals?
- Goodway Group’s Search Center of Excellence, Lisa Little helps you find the answers.
What’s the difference between SEO and SEM? Why should I bid on my own brand keywords? Should we start with SEO or SEM? Is ecommerce considered search? Where should I invest?
To understand the relationship of these channels within the search function, think about a playground tournament of dodgeball (SEO), kickball (SEM), and tetherball (ecommerce). All games are played on the same playground (search engine results page, SERP) with the same type of ball (platforms) but different rules, gameplay, player positions, strategic play, variables, and objectives to win.
Some players (advertisers) invest everything into playing only one game. The athletes (performance marketers) that play a combination of those games and master the common skill sets (data storytelling, understanding impact to the business, influential communication skills, continual learning, eagerness to test, embrace rapid change) rule the playground.
The SERP is filled with aspects and listings of all types that fall into these three channels to make up the search marketing function. There are three key benefits of a comprehensive search strategy:
- In tandem, they take up more real estate on the SERP[1] for your brand to own and push out your competition. Combined brands can gain maximum visibility.
- The searcher typically does not know if they are interacting with ecommerce, paid, or organic listings, and the right combination can mean that you will be there for your customer when, where, and how they personally prefer to interact with your brand.
- Regardless of how chaotic the path to conversion can be