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Search Engine Marketing (SEM) has two main components: SEO and AdWords. These are the components you need to first take care of when planning or running any kind of digital marketing campaign for your business. SEO and Google AdWords have their own set of similarities and differences.
But while this may be the case, there are instances when you will have no option but to either use them separately or together.
It all depends on the goals you have set for your marketing campaign and the kind of business you are running.
Google AdWords—What Is It?
For those who are just getting their feet wet in the world of digital marketing, you may have heard an SEM manager or digital marketing agency talking about things such as AdWords and PPC.
In the same conversation, terms such as campaigns, bids, and CPC are likely to have been mentioned a few times as well.
While the terms are likely to confuse you at first, you shouldn’t have to worry as it doesn’t take long for one to get accustomed to them.
Google AdWords also popularly referred to as Google Ads refers to a marketing and advertising platform run by Google.
It’s a platform that advertisers can use to place their advertisements in Google Products, e.g., Gmail, YouTube, etc., Google Search Results Pages, and on thousands of other websites around the world using the AdWords program.
Advertisers get to choose when they would like to pay, i.e., when someone views your advertisement (Cost per Thousands of Impressions or CPM) or when someone clicks on the advertisement (Cost per Click).
Simply put, AdWords functions like a big auction centre where various advertisers get to compete for the advertising spots that are available.
What Is SEO?
If you’re looking into doing SEO for your business, you should note that Search Engine Optimization seeks to offer better rankings for your website.
How you implement SEO and the tactics you apply will influence where your site will appear on search results pages of sites such as Bing, Yahoo, and Google.
Good implementation of SEO techniques will translate to better rankings. SEO friendly websites are easier to read and rank. Generally, you need to make sure that your website is not only functional but fast as well. It should also offer clients unique and high-quality content.
Search Engine Optimization vs Google AdWords
Having gained a better understanding of SEO and Google AdWords, it’s now time to look at how they compare to each other:
- Google AdWords is for websites that utilize Google AdSense and other Google websites while SEO applies to all search engines.
- When you have AdWords, it becomes easier for you to advertise on sites using Google AdSense. SEO, on the other hand, only provides results related to ranking on search results pages.
- It’s easier to calculate your return on investment when you use AdWords as opposed to SEO. SEO is dependent on very many factors and not just ad revenue and spending.
SEO or AdWords| Which One Should You Go for?
Digital marketing agencies recommend that you start by implementing Google AdWords, especially if you are a new company.
AdWords work well for companies that would like to get targeted much more quickly to help them find new clients, increase sales, or test their goods and services.
But this is not to mean that SEO should be ignored altogether. For long term success, it’s best to also start working with social media, content marketing, and SEO. They are the three tools that all companies need to survive online.
Conclusion
The key to ranking and performing well online lies in understanding that SEO and AdWords are not in a competition.
They are merely tools that you need to take advantage of for your company to succeed. AdWords works well for companies that want fast traffic, while SEO is more of a long term approach.
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