Its a very good question that a lot of people ask, most people confuse search engine optimization (SEO) for search engine marketing (SEM).
I have explained the meaning of SEO in my earlier write up which you can find here, Before i start sharing SEM tips, let me explain search engine marketing (SEM) to those who do not understand what it is.
Search engine marketing, SEM for short, is a sponsored or free internet marketing technology that displays your website in search results and enable people find you easily by the use of keywords. If you do not know what is a keyword, its simply the words or phrases people use in finding your business in the process of a search query on either Google, Bing, Yahoo or other directories.
If you look at the definition above, you will find two important words; sponsored and free. This simply means that you either pay to have your website displayed in search results or pay when people click on a link to your website or get your website displayed for free. When you pay to have your website displayed on a search engine or directory, it is simply a part of SEM called search advertising (this can be by way of Pay per click, PPC, Cost per impression or Cost per miles) and in most cases people pay to be found on the first page. When you don't pay to have your website on the first page of search engines, then that is SEO, in this case search results are triggered by keywords naturally.
From my explanation so far, you can say that SEO and search advertising (either by PPC, CPM) are parts of SEM.
In this era of modern internet technology a lot of people strive to get on the first page of search engines and its either by doing SEO or advertising (PPC, Cost per impression, CPM etc). For advertising, you can start seeing results as soon as a campaign is set up, but for SEO, it takes time but pays at last.
If you are looking at achieving an immediate internet marketing results then PPC is the best option. There are currently many search engines offering this option, but the post popular programs are Google Adwords, Yahoo search marketing and Microsoft adcenter.
Google Adwords is the most popular and effective way of advertising as it gives you the option of spending less or more depending on your budget. You can call it a budget way of advertising.
Yahoo search marketing is a good way of advertising, but is used mostly by big spenders.
Microsoft adcenter is one advertising program that most people are not aware of. It is also a cost effective and budget advertising that any business owner can afford. With Microsoft adcenter you can have your ad displayed on Bing and Yahoo.
Adverts coupled with SEO is a good idea, but knowing how to target the right audience and maximizing the use of advertising programs is essential to avoid wasting your resources. I have had a couple of clients who set up their adword by themselves but ended up wasting money in advertising because their campaigns were not set up in the right way. Setting up an advertising campaign involves more than you think and that is why it is advisable to do that using people who expertise in doing that to avoid wasteful cost per click.
Before setting up a PPC campaigns;
- Write an eye catchy ad (attractive)
- Do a keyword research to determine your bidding keywords
- Analyze your business or company to determine where you would want your ads displayed on the internet
- Determine places you want your ad displayed in relative of your business
- Determine how you want to pay and how much you want to pay per click.
- If you are not sure of what to do, seek the services of an expert to help you get the right results
In our next topic, i shall be discussing other internet marketing options.
