SEO vs. SEM vs. PPC: Understanding the Key Differences

Gaining more customers, building a brand identity, and promoting your services or products online has various means including traditional and online advertising. Our digital landscape is moving rapidly forward so are ways of online marketing tactics. When it comes to online promotion, you can employ SEO, SEM or PPC. Besides these forms of marketing many exist and are employed by businesses of all kinds. Each has its own specific merits and the usage depends on your unique business requirements and long or short-term goals. In this blog, you will get to know the difference between SEO vs SEM vs PPC. Some prefer to have a harmonious fusion of these three at any stage of their marketing instead of contemplating about SEM vs PPC. 

SEO vs SEM vs PPC

In the competitive landscape of business, you need to cleverly understand the difference between SEO vs SEM vs PPC. 

SEO

• It is time-consuming to get results
• It uses comprehensive keyword research
• On-page and off-page optimisation is a must-have
• It is an organic way of marketing
• Great content is the essence of SEO
• Real-time results with key performance indicators

Search engine marketing vs PPC

Search engine marketing has both types, paid advertising as well as organic marketing through content creation. Search engine optimization is the organic form of marketing whereas, PPC refers to only paid advertising that works on the highest bid for certain keywords. 

SEM

Search Engine Marketing refers to the entire tactic both paid ads and organic to boost website ranking on search results. SEM paid ads work just like PPC ads and help you drive traffic. The copy used in the ad and landing page plays a crucial role in driving conversions.

• It refers to all kinds of search engine marketing, paid and organic
• It uses comprehensive keyword research
• SEM is paid advertising exclusively on search engines
• Pay only when users click on ads
• Bidding on specific keywords
• It is less time-consuming
• Real-time results with key performance indicators
• Compelling ad copies with persuasive language
• Precise targeting based on location and demographics
• Immediate traffic

PPC advertising

PPC advertising refers to all kinds of paid advertising not only on search engines but various platforms such as social media platforms and diverse avenues. Shopping ads, display ads, video ads and text ads all come under the category of PPC advertising. Here, you can bid on specific keywords and publish your ad on any platform. Who bids the highest, gets published in the search result pages relevant to the user. You need not worry about the budget because the payment is made only when someone shows a genuine interest. This is the biggest difference between SEO vs SEM. 

• It refers to all kinds of paid advertising
• It uses comprehensive keyword research
• Pay only when users click on ads
• Bidding on specific keywords
• It is less time-consuming
• Performance-based approach
• Real-time results with key performance indicators
• Compelling ad copies with persuasive language
• Many types of PPC ads exist so do the differences of PPC vs SEM
• It provides targeted traffic

PPC vs SEM: What to choose?

When you really understand all the facts about PPC vs SEM, you can determine what to choose. 

You can literally choose PPC over SEM, if you want:

• To get quick and instant results
• To use in campaigns and new product launches
• To target audiences of different types
• To guide leads to the sales funnel
• To promote vital, time constraint content

On the other hand, you may choose SEM over PPC, if you want:

• To achieve higher ranks on SERP results
• To build a strong corporate brand identity
• To allocate a monthly income for SEM campaigns
• To drive consistent website traffic and conversions
• Improved lead generation

How to do PPC as well as SEM campaigns

1. Keyword research – Finding the best tools for keyword research helps you get the best keywords. Highly converting keywords can be easily found using a top tool. 

2. Budget planning – If your budget is limited, you will have to pick keywords carefully. On the other hand, if the budget is big you can get more keywords as you wish. 

3. Effective ad copy – Effective ad copy is the main attraction of the SEM as well as PPC ad campaigns. Whether the audience will show a genuine interest in your campaign lion’s share depends on how well you have crafted ad copy.

4. Data tracking –  Data tracking and analysis are the key part of a PPC and SEM campaign. Once you publish your ad campaign on search engines as well as other platforms, you cannot let it go. You need to keep track of everything from clickthrough rates and impressions. 

In reality, all these three forms of online marketing have their own importance. Blending these with veteran expertise is the key to increasing your overall marketing efforts. With the help of a PPC agency in Dubai, your business too can be on the top of the competitive curve by understanding SEO vs SEM vs PPC. Once you know the major difference between these three concepts or PPC vs SEM, you can choose the best form of marketing or blend these to reap maximum benefits from marketing.