In 2020 with all of the challenges COVID-19 threw our way, every business looked to their website to communicate with their customers for a number of reasons. They needed to let them know their updated hours, product updates and availability, any new policies with regards to the pandemic, and, most notably, they needed to market. While the last year and half have been very hard on many businesses, others found that, by communicating via their website, they were able to find new outlets or thrive in ways they hadn’t considered before. If in 2021 you haven’t jumped on the wagon of communication with your clients online or through digital marketing, you could already be behind your competition. Even if your business has already tried digital marketing in the past with less success than you expected, times have changed. There are likely SEO and SEM opportunities you are missing out on.
What Are SEO and SEM?
Let’s define SEM and SEO so we can see how they differ from each other. SEM, or Search Engine Marketing, more generally applies to paid advertising with fast (or faster) results. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, refers more broadly to sustained value in search results. One is not better than another. In fact, to have an effective digital marketing plan, your business should leverage both SEM and SEO.
Search Engine Marketing
With SEM you are able to target keywords that your website may not rank well for with SEO. Because this medium is a paid channel, you can gather valuable data and keywords to see if any of that information should be applied to your SEO strategy.
Search Engine Optimization
SEO is more of a long-term game and should be updated and expanded continuously. Until your website ranks very well for all of the keywords you’d like to target, your work isn’t done. If you do rank well for certain high-value keywords, you can use this to your advantage by taking up more Google search results with both Google Ads (SEM method) and SEO by having good organic rankings.
Many businesses still are not using SEO and SEM for a variety of reasons. However, we ALL use the internet in some capacity, and our reliance on it personally and for business is growing. If your business neglects its digital presence, it will only be harder and harder to catch up over time. We understand it can be a big step to make changes from traditional marketing and the way things have always been. However, for a business to grow in 2021 and beyond, it is important to evolve with the way people are communicating. You need your website to be highlighted where potential customers are looking for your services when they search for them.
Call Tom at Corporate Conversions today for a free consultation and website analysis.
