SEO vs SEM – What’s better in 2023 for your marketing plan?

Feb 1, 2023 | SEO Tips, WordPress Wednesday

Search Engine Optimization #SEO is the organic / free way to rank on Google. But if you have a budget to spend you can try Search Engine Marketing. That’s the paid route to be listed on Google. Kori Ashton helps you define both of these further and decide which is better for your SEO marketing plan in 2023.

Here’s a great article to learn more
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/tabid/6307/bid/1514/paid-search-vs-organic-search.aspx

Video transcript:
– When you’re looking to improve your Google rank, you’ve got a few options. Hey y’all, I’m Kori Ashton. Welcome to another WordPress Wednesday. This entire month, we’re gonna be talking about search engine optimization and I’m starting today to help you better understand the difference between SEO and SEM. Which one should you use? Ultimately, what you’re looking for is more traffic to that website. And with Google owning the majority of where traffic is coming from these days, we know that we’ve got to be able to play their game and understand what they’re looking for. Currently, they have over 8 billion searches happening per day, and on a desktop view, only 1% of that traffic clicks on page two. So, how are you getting to that page one rank? Well, there’s really only two ways to be found on Google. It all boils down to these two ways. You’ll either pay to play, right? That’s that SEM or search engine marketing side of things, where you have a set budget and you’re paying per click or per impression or there’s the organic side and that’s that search engine optimization, the organic route. But that one takes a lot of time. So, when you’re thinking about search engine optimization, that’s really where it takes longer but it might last longer. Search engine marketing requires a budget and you’ll be paying per click. Now, that might get you faster exposure but it definitely takes some strategy so that you’re not just throwing that money out the window. So, how do you know which one is best for you and your company? Asking that question is like asking you should I eat with a spoon or a fork? It really just depends on the situation. But let me help you try to answer that question. Is your situation urgent? Do you have a realistic budget? You know, I have some clients who, their keywords cost anywhere between $80 to $215 per click. So, if you are in a saturated industry, do you actually have a realistic budget to even get in there and be competitive. And do you understand those best practices when it comes to search engine marketing strategy? Let me help you try to decide. Let’s use the SEO methods if you have little or no marketing budget. Maybe you wanna craft great content to build that authority and build your legitimacy in your industry. And use SEO methods if you’re looking for that long-term return on investment. Let’s use SEM if you need a quick response, especially if you’re trying to promote something that’s time sensitive, maybe through the holidays. Or you need to direct customers to a specific sales funnel or landing page. Now, in the best of of both worlds, wouldn’t it be awesome if you could use both. Use SEO to build that authority and use SEM for urgent situations and to gain more insight or have access to some more key word tools that might help you overall. Ultimately, choosing which route to go can lead you down a path of a lot of sweat equity or a lot of budget spent. Be sure to track all of your efforts though as best as you can to help you quickly pivot as needed. Be sure to click like and subscribe. I’m gonna be doing an entire series on search engine optimization for you this month. I’ll see you next week. Bye everyone.

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FROM KORI:
Hey Y’all – Thanks for watching. Each week I’m creating videos just like this one to help you improve your online marketing. Be sure to subscribe so that you get access to each video. If you have questions about a process, product, or service that I’ve mentioned in a video, please reach out directly to the authors of that item first. If there’s a question about something specific I’ve shared, comment in the thread and I’ll reply within a day or two.

To get my attention more quickly Tweet me @KoriAshton

KORI ASHTON IS A KEYNOTE SPEAKER, YOUTUBER & BUSINESS COACH.
From freelancer to entrepreneur to c-suite, Kori Ashton has spent over twenty years in the digital marketing space. She built up a WordPress agency that sold in 2017 and spends most of her time now growing her new company Press Happi and consulting with industry brands and agencies on improving customer retention with persona-driven development.

SEO Tips & Resources –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFXUhTBPPms&list=PLEHHgcyfqqx7OjmmT1lmQvcdJWk2Z2zTJ