SEO or SEA
or both?
Do you have a website and are wondering whether SEA or SEO is the better choice for your online marketing?
In this article you will find the differences, but also tips for your company on the subject of search engine optimisation.
In order to be found on Google (the most popular search engine) or other search engines, you cannot avoid Search Engine Marketing (SEM). SEM is made up of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Search Engine Advertising (SEA).
You can find out why SEM is important as a mixture and not just a focus on one area here.
Whether SEO or SEA, both online marketing variants have their advantages and disadvantages. Together, however, they complement each other perfectly and will make your company more successful.
How does SEO work?
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the ability to improve the ranking of your website for related search terms/keywords in the results of a search engine search. However, it is not only technical aspects that play a major role here, but above all content optimisation (on-page optimisation). Other factors outside your website, such as backlinks (off-page optimisation), are also taken into account.
The search results displayed (SERPs) are part of the organic search. By optimising your business presence, the search engine is able to read and analyse your website. The aim is, of course, to place the website high up in the organic search for popular keywords. The first place has by far the best click rates (traffic growth).
SEO GOALS
- Improvement of organic (natural) search results
- Increase the length of stay of potential customers
- Increase topic relevance
- Increase conversion rate
- Branding - strengthening the brand
- Long-term successes
Important factors for SEO?
All search engines offer no insight into the algorithm used to determine the best search results. Various factors determine positive or negative rankings. In addition, these processes are dynamic and the underlying algorithm is constantly being optimised/adapted.
Of course, this also means that websites have to keep making improvements and search engine optimisation is therefore an ongoing process.
Where the desktop version was originally read by the search engine, the priority is now on the mobile version.
Another very important factor in on-page optimisation is the optimisation of content (text length and keyword density), topic relevance, but also links and technical optimisation. So if you consider not only technical but also content-related SEO factors, you have a much better chance of ranking better with Google & Co. to rank better.
Off-page optimisation is also a major relevant factor for the search engine. The aim here is to get in contact with the partner (authorities) and to obtain a link (link building).
WHICH AREAS NEED TO BE OPTIMISED?
- Usability
- Technical optimisation
- Mobile (responsive Design)
- Social Media
- Backlinks
- Content
Source: ©Statista 2020
STATISTICS
Market shares of selected search engines for desktop and mobile searches in Germany in September 2020
STATISTICS
Market shares of the most used search engines on the desktop by page views worldwide in selected months from September 2015 to September 2020
Source: ©Statista 2020
If you hire an SEO agency, you will of course incur marketing costs, but these are very low compared to the potential and therefore also the increase in sales.
Creating an optimised text that takes all relevant factors into account is an investment for the moment, but in the long term you will achieve a significant increase for your company as an authority (important company) in the search engine, so that the costs remain within a manageable framework.
In addition, the algorithm is adjusted at regular intervals, meaning that SEO factors on your website should be continuously adapted, expanded or optimised. Because what is current today can be further improved tomorrow in order to achieve a top ranking. The background to this is that Google, for example, wants to be the best and most popular search engine. Searchers should not only find the answer to their questions when they first click on a suggestion, but also all other possible questions.
What is SEA - search engine advertising?
Search engine advertising (SEA) is the possibility of attracting visitors to your business website by placing adverts on search engines.
However, placing search engine adverts requires attention to detail, as small mistakes when creating them can end up costing you a lot of money.
To save costs when placing adverts and to adapt them individually and perfectly to your company, we recommend using an SEO agency.
How does SEA work?
You can set up adverts for your company using the so-called bidding process. As with your website content, certain search terms/keywords are defined for this purpose. As soon as the searcher is interested in your topic, these adverts appear in the so-called "Position1" of the search engine. These adverts are always paid per click and therefore per potential customer referred.
For this reason, a defined budget is necessary for SEA; if several campaigns have been launched, this should be sufficiently high. However, this budget can be defined precisely in advance.
In addition to the maximum cost-per-click (CPC), factors for the placement of your search engine advertising include the so-called quality factor. This results from the quality of your advert in conjunction with the keywords of the target page on your website.
It should be noted here that a generic keyword with a high search volume is more expensive than a niche keyword/search term.
Advantages and disadvantages of SEA
The success of SEA search engine advertising can often be measured very quickly, as these adverts are displayed above the search engine results of the organic search, generating more visitors and also more traffic to your website.
It is also possible to select and address your target group more specifically by defining demographic characteristics, e.g. local area search.
The daily budget can be adjusted and this will not be exceeded in the end, so that you can plan your costs well. However, there is a risk that if the budget is set too low, your adverts will no longer be displayed.
Depending on the selection of keywords and the time of day, SEA search engine advertising can become very cost-intensive. It is advisable to rule out errors here in order to save avoidable costs.
SEA is more time-consuming because adverts and campaigns should be regularly evaluated and improved in order to achieve better results.
Reach your goal with search engine marketing (SEM)
Whether SEO or SEA, the approach is different and requires a great deal of specialised knowledge in each of the two areas in order to be able to use it effectively and efficiently without wasting money.
What both areas have in common is that extensive keyword research must be carried out in advance. This is particularly important for Google AdWords adverts, as it is crucial for the ad placement. It is important to know that it is no longer primarily about keyword optimisation, but about topic optimisation.
The two areas differ primarily in terms of cost and time.
SEO is more of a long-term search engine optimisation and takes time. In order to have a certain framework here, it is assumed that approx. 6-12 months should pass before a realistic evaluation of the implementation is possible.
SEA - search engine advertising is a shorter-term option to advertise certain areas or content, promotions or products on your website or to publicise your website and your offers in the first place.
After evaluation and objective setting, the SEM mix is often the most suitable option for companies to optimise their business presence and generate new traffic/clients.
It makes sense to get competent support from an SEO agency for the topic of search engine optimisation, as this topic is very complex and requires a great deal of specialist knowledge in order to achieve greater success in the long term.