SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) tools are incredibly helpful when trying to boost brand awareness and grow consumer relationships. They both utilize key terms to filter searches and list the companies who have invested in these tools at the top of the search results.
Organic strategies such as those present in SEO tools are incredibly helpful when trying to generate site traffic. They often provide a greater internet presence, which in turn boosts company conversion rates. While someone may visit a website, the ease of navigation and content comprehension is essential when converting those visitors into customers. Creating this new customer base goes a long way for business development and sales growth, especially if there are local stores. Taking control of SEO also helps companies monitor their target audience, content, and most importantly prevents mistakes by third parties. While SEO companies offer the ease of hands-free marketing, the flexibility of generating specific, personalized content allows companies to make adjustments as needed. A good SEO presence helps target the right audience, instead of generating general traffic that has little to do with customer satisfaction. The idea is to appear to customers in search of a specific product or service (MatchBox).
While there are many benefits with organic marketing strategies, there are also disadvantages to consider. Results with this tool are not always immediate, so a company must practice patience as search engine rankings can take weeks to update. There are also no guarantees with SEO tools; they don’t automatically create new customers, so the return on investment may not be as projected. There are many unknowns when utilizing SEO, especially when search engine algorithms change and competition may be more aggressive and competitive than anticipated. Possibly the biggest disadvantage when using SEO is that it is an organic tool, meaning paid strategies like SEM will get the prime rankings.
When SEM is cost effective, the results can greatly outweigh those of SEO. SEM can directly link the return of investment to company marketing as it offers the ability to bid on specific key word searches. Boosted site traffic is nearly instantaneous with this tool as companies pay to have their results listed first, so consumers don’t have to look past the first few results. Investment into SEM offers numerous marketing options; it can appeal to consumers based on location, results ranking, etc. Every dollar invested into this system can be controlled to maximize advertisement. Additionally, daily limits and spending budgets can be utilized to prevent overspending and manage keyword bids to optimize company ROI. Paid marketing also offers a wider variety of distribution so that ads can appear on social media sites, through search engine results, and even within webpage content (Cloud1Marketing).
When deciding to use SEM, it is important to consider whether the pros outweigh the cons for the business. SEM requires extensive expertise, organization and strategy to produce profitable ROI. Managing these campaigns is often complex and entails rigorous labor. Especially in today’s economy, ecommerce is at an all-time high, so the competition in SEM will only increase. While paid strategies may be affordable, companies with larger profit margins and budgeting will ultimately dominate the online market.
When presenting all of this information to businesses, it is important to highlight all of the benefits of using the search engine tools, while also placing significance on the potential of their failures. Clients must understand that this investment does not guarantee business success but should, in the end, boost traffic. For companies unsure of the outcome, I would recommend utilizing SEO strategies to start. This would allow clients to, essentially, dip their toe while providing sound feedback on the application of these services. Discussing the importance of key terms is essential because the search for a generic word like “apple” could pull up anything relating to fruit, Apple Inc, and possibly even the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible. Lastly, I would demonstrate the SEO and SEM tools to clients so that they are able to see the services in action so they are better able to understand how they can benefit their companies.
Works Cited
Matchbox Design Group. (2020). Pros and Cons of SEO. MatchBox. Retrieved from https://matchboxdesigngroup.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-seo/#:~:text=The%20Pros%20And%20Cons%20Of%20SEO%201%20Look,Bigger%20Picture.%20…%205%20Some%20Final%20Words.%20
The Pros and Cons of Search Engine Marketing (2020). Cloud 1 Marketing. Retrieved from https://www.cloud1marketing.com/pros-cons-search-engine-marketing/
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