{"id":14480,"date":"2017-07-31T09:03:04","date_gmt":"2017-07-31T13:03:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/?p=14480"},"modified":"2017-08-07T13:46:30","modified_gmt":"2017-08-07T17:46:30","slug":"monday-myth-b2b-search-engine-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mgb2b.com\/blog\/monday-myth-b2b-search-engine-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"B2B Monday Myth: SEM and SEO Are the Same Thing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"b2b<\/a><\/h3>\n

The Myth: SEM and SEO Are the Same Thing<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Truth: These Two\u00a0Different Methods of Increasing Search Engine Visibility Work Hand-in-Hand<\/strong><\/h3>\n

So you’ve created a great website. And you’ve filled it with pages of relevant information about your company, clean\u00a0graphics, and insightful industry blog posts. You’re proud of your work; the website looks smart, and it’s relevant to your customers.\u00a0Naturally, you’re going to want some eyes on this content. So what do you do next? How can\u00a0your company break through all the internet clutter?<\/p>\n

You’ve likely heard both the terms, “search engine marketing” and “search engine optimization.” The two phrases are definitely related, since they both have\u00a0the same goal in mind: increasing your visibility and\u00a0bringing more users to your site. But there is a\u00a0common misconception that these two terms are interchangeable<\/em>, which is not true at all. They typically refer to two entirely different tactics. By identifying the differences between them, you’ll be able to properly employ these two methods to your website.<\/p>\n

What Is Search Engine Marketing?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

SEM was once\u00a0used primarily as an overarching term for increasing website visibility. But when people use the phrase today, they are most often referring to the practice of Paid Search. Paid Search is when you use\u00a0paid advertisements<\/a> that appear on search engine result pages. Google AdWords<\/a>\u00a0is the most popular paid search platform. It\u00a0allows you to pay only when a user clicks on an ad to visit your website.<\/p>\n

How Exactly Does Paid Search Work?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

When a user is searching\u00a0on\u00a0a platform like Google, there are certain keywords that they are going to enter if they are looking for a specific product or service. This gives you\u00a0the opportunity to place your\u00a0ads alongside the organic results\u00a0that pop up when your prospects type in\u00a0relevant\u00a0keywords. Those attractive links that come up at the very top of your search results? Those are being paid for by the people who really want\u00a0you to see them.<\/p>\n

These ads are also known by the term pay-per-click ads<\/a>. They are\u00a0usually small, text-based ads that drive users to specific landing pages.<\/p>\n

What Is the Benefit of Paid Search?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Search Engine Marketing is valuable because it is a great lead generator. It gives you\u00a0the opportunity to put ads right in front of users who are further into the sales funnel. These people are often ready to make a purchase. Paid Search is\u00a0also highly measurable. If more prospects are coming to your site via certain keywords and not through others, you can stop paying for the keywords that don’t work and put more money into the ones that do, building efficiency over time.<\/p>\n

What Is Search Engine Optimization?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

While the important word when talking about search engine marketing is paid,\u00a0<\/em>the best word to describe Search Engine Optimization<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0organic.\u00a0<\/em>Simply put,\u00a0it’s the free and natural way to maximize the number of visitors that come to your site. It involves writing, formatting, and fine-tuning\u00a0the content of your site in a way that makes it the most user-friendly and compatible with Google searches.<\/p>\n

What Does SEO Encompass?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Search Engine Optimization requires adjusting different elements of your site,<\/a> both on the technical and creative side to improve its presence in search\u00a0results. This could be anything from the language used\u00a0to the way your site is structured, including how strong your keywords are and how they’re ordered. The secret? Optimize so that both users and search engines can understand easily. SEO also takes into account the way other sites link to you on the internet and how relevant a search engine deems you to be based on these connections.<\/p>\n

SEO can be broken down into two categories<\/a>: on-page activities and off-page. On-page includes elements like:<\/p>\n