What are SEO, SEM, and SMM? What are the Main Differences?
Nov 22, 2019 Gourav Bajaj DIGITAL MARKETING
Digital marketing is one of the most prominent waves of digitization that has commendably forayed into the class of impeccable marketing techniques. Also referred to as 'internet marketing' pertaining to the role of the internet as a backbone in this concept, digital marketing deals with the marketing of products and services using digital technology on digitized platforms, particularly the internet and other related media of social communication. Digital marketing surmounts an array of major types/ techniques that encompass this concept of marketing.
Content marketing, email marketing, instant messaging marketing, and affiliate marketing are some of the types, whereas others like SEO, SEM, and SMM stand as three prominent pillars that catalyze and support the process.
Many times, it is noticed that the employees/ employers from non-technical backgrounds often tend to misinterpret these three for similar concepts or at the other times are completely unknown from their different implications.
Considering the heightened use of these three for all industry types and products/services, regardless of the department that an employee belongs to, the person must be acquainted with the basic connotations and uses of SMM, SEO, and SEM.
Even if an organization relies on an SEO agency in Delhi for their digital marketing work to be done, to ensure smooth delivery and skip the possibilities of any fraudulent tactics by the agency, one must be versed with such basics.
What is SEM (Search Engine Marketing)?
Search engine marketing, abbreviated as SEM, is a type of internet marketing that attends to increasing website visitors by virtue of increasing their visibility in the search engines through digital promotion.
The search engine pages (SERPs) are indulged in this process through paid advertising.
Keys of SEM:
- SEM is known as the type of internet marketing that is associated with researching, submitting and positioning of a website.
- Increasing organic traffic referrals from search engines is the main requisite behind this concept.
- Setting up and optimization of ads and strategizing the budget for the placement of these ads are the key strategies that are devised under this internet marketing type.
- It contributes to an increase in brand awareness and brand equity.
- Increases visibility of the website i.e. enhances website traffic.
- Increases targeted leads.
- Targeting users based on languages and demography can be done using SEM.
- SEO (search engine optimization) and PPC (pay per click) are essential SEM methods that contribute towards the effective execution of search engine marketing.
What is SMM (Social Media Marketing)?
Social Media Marketing is one such accumulation of platforms that already has a wide population of prospective users for all sorts of brands, products, and services. All that is required is to scrutinize the target group based on interest, demography, age category, etc. make the most out of it. Social media marketing has surfaced significantly owing to the huge increase in social media trends for daily usage.
Social media marketing is abbreviated to SMM that uses social media platforms and websites for the promotion of brands and products through the terms of digital marketing. This is one of the most rapidly approaching marketing tool that is being readily used by most of the companies that have undertaken digital marketing for their ventures.
Benefits of SMM (Social Media Marketing)
- Enhanced brand awareness
- More inbound traffic
- Better search engine rankings can be achieved.
- Customer satisfaction is improved
- Higher conversion rates
- Brand loyalty is established
- It is one of the most cost-effective ways to execute digital marketing.
- Social media marketing is the easiest and very quick way of reaching out to customers not only from a promotional view but also from the perspective of issue resolution and aiding customer experience.
What is SEO (Search engine optimization)?
Search engine optimization or SEO is the cynosure-type of digital marketing wherein all other concepts are nearly related to this one. Search engine optimization deals with tactics to boost the quality and quantity of traffic on a website. Improvement of unpaid results and exclusion of direct traffic with paid placement is what SEO targets. The amount of visitors on a website is increased through improved search engine rankings.
Majorly, the ranking placement on Google, Bing, and Yahoo are targeted. Choosing the right URL before the website goes live aids the SEO process highly. Utilization of anchor tags and addition of alt text to images successfully benefits SEO. Usage of right headers and creation of titles and descriptions of each page are necessary for the SEO process to give the desired results. Digital marketing agencies are well equipped with these requisites and execute the campaigns accordingly.
There are two types of SEO processes- on-page and off-page.
In both cases, the prime focus is on improvement and continuous refinement of content with measures to optimize meta descriptions and title tags.
Benefits of SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
- SEO Leads to Better User Experience
- SEO Is a Primary Source of Leads
- SEO Brings Higher Close Rates
- SEO Results to Higher Conversion Rate
- SEO Promotes Better Cost Management
- SEO Encourages Local Users to Visit the Physical Store After the Search
- SEO Builds Brand Credibility
- SEO Helps in stablishing Brand Awareness
How Does SEM Differ From SEO?
SEO and SEM are often mistaken for their identities and usage. SEO is a part of SEM. SEO increases the visibility of the website by increasing the visitors and getting the website to rank higher in searches whereas SEM is the type of internet marketing that increases the site's visibility through advertising and organic search engine results.
Parting notes
Irrespective of the industry or company type, marketing for all has taken up a major digital turn that is cost-effective and highly efficient. Delving upon older tactics will only take any business backward. Thereby, even for non-technical people, it is essential to adopt digital marketing techniques to be it through digital marketing company in India. The reach, content diversity, target group availability and population of viewers are the key benefits to draw from SEO, SEM, and SMM altogether.
