SEO vs. SEM (Google Ads): Which is better for your business?

When it comes to strategies for attracting traffic, there has always been this debate about which one might be better. SEO, on one hand, is a legendary technique that, if done well, can position your website for the long term, but it can take a long time to perfect. On the other hand, there is SEM, in this case, Google Ads, which can give your company the visibility it needs in exchange for a fee, a cost for each click a user makes on your ad. It is instantly effective, but ephemeral.

Both have their pros and cons, but which one might be better for your company, SEO or Google Ads? What is the profitability of each? Can they be implemented together?

Keep reading to get the answers to all your questions.

What is SEO

You probably already know what SEO is. It is often defined as a process or a set of techniques used so that your company’s website can rank in the top search results of Google, thereby increasing views and attracting a larger amount of traffic, which means a greater number of customers.

Although this strategy is not only based on the Google search engine model, it is also designed for other types of search engines such as Yahoo or Bing. The big difference with Google is that it manages to capture 92% of worldwide traffic, according to Statcounter.

If you compare that with only 8% for the other search engines, you will surely understand why SEO techniques are especially aimed at pleasing the Google algorithm.

When you do good optimization, you have a better chance of appearing in the top search results.

The best part? You won’t have to pay for the position.

But to achieve this, you need a good score in the algorithm’s evaluation. Some factors that are taken into account are the following:

• Having quality content, this must be part of a set of unified strategies with keywords and links, while also offering value to the user. If you are able to do this, you will be giving good signals for a better position.
• Browsing experience, if your company’s website is easy to navigate and has a fast loading speed, it will be considered for the top search results.
• Link authority, if the links that link to your content have good authority and are of a similar topic, your chances will increase.

To achieve this, it is necessary that you put into practice a series of organic techniques, known as Black Hat and White Hat. The first includes a series of practices that are sometimes effective, but only if the Google algorithm fails, and since this seems increasingly impossible, you can and should use White Hat techniques as much as possible, which are divided as follows.

On-Page SEO

As its name indicates, these are all the activities you will carry out within your web page to improve positioning. These help you have all the characteristics that a website needs to be in the first place. Some actions you should take into account are the following.

• Select and incorporate important keywords from your sector in titles, tags, and meta-descriptions.
• You must also correctly optimize the loading speed of the pages.
• Include some buttons to share on social networks within your content.
• Your texts must be written and optimized correctly.
• URLs should be simple, short, and should include some selected keywords.
• Good internal linking, this part is very important as you will be able to transmit strength from one page to another.

Here you must take into account web design, so you may want to have the help of an expert, since in the optimization process you will need to use some specialized tools.

Off-Page SEO

On the other hand, off-page optimization are changes that you will implement on other websites, social networks, and other external resources to attract a large mass of traffic. You do this with the help of link building strategies, among other actions that you will see below.

• Create a structure of natural backlinks on websites; these must have a lot of authority and relevance on the Internet.
• Publish content that users want to share, to have signals on social networks.
• Do guest posting, that is, write as a guest author on a highly relevant blog.
• Have other websites where you can publish links to your main page.

What’s the real story?

Well, with Off-Page SEO the idea is for your website or personal brand to become more popular on the Internet. If you create good, valuable, and high-quality content, you will gain a reputation as an expert and authority. With this, you can do more collaborations in your link building strategy and gradually achieve good positioning.

Advantages and disadvantages of SEO

Optimizing your website with White Hat techniques can bring you many benefits. You could also try it with Black Hat techniques, but apart from the fact that it will not be useful to deceive the algorithm, you may also get a penalty.

Why does that matter?

Well, a penalty will make your website disappear from the top results, and after that, it is very difficult to regain the search engine’s trust.

So you will have to strive to create the best quality content to achieve the best results, as with this you can enjoy many benefits, such as the following.

• Increase your brand recognition: If you are successful with the optimization process, you can have the privilege of being in the top results of different searches and with different keywords. When users see your website over and over again, you will be more recognized.
• You will have a stronger relationship with users: Good SEO consists of being a good host. Thanks to the quality of the content and the browsing experience, you can enjoy a higher loyalty rate.
• You will enjoy greater credibility: This advantage is automatic when you are in the top results. If Google believes that your brand has great potential and deserves that position, users will believe it too.
• You will gain more traffic: It goes without saying that your traffic rate will skyrocket. You will be within reach of thousands of users looking for answers on the first page.
• You won’t have to spend a lot of money: The costs of SEO are not high if you take into account the benefits of notoriety and visibility that are obtained.
• You will see a higher quality click-through rate: Due to the valuable content, you will surely have many users looking for information, but most of them will give you something in return: a conversion, a purchase, a comment, etc.

But not everything is rosy. Organic search engine optimization also has its drawbacks. Take a look at the following.

• It’s a bit slow: The Google positioning process takes time. After making the changes, you may start to notice the real results in weeks.
• It’s competitive: You won’t be the only one with the aspiration of being in the top places, so the keywords you should use must have little competition, but a good traffic rate.
• You need excellent content: Writing will not be your only challenge. There are other types of content that you must use. You may need specialized tools, as well as implementing exceptional strategies.

What is SEM

On the other hand, there is an easier way to get your company to the top places in a short time, without implementing all the SEO strategies. However, this time you have to pay.

SEM is specifically defined as “search engine marketing”. You may have to use organic optimization techniques like keywords; because of how Google works, you won’t be able to get rid of them. Likewise, the fact that it is a paid technique does not mean you should put in less effort.

SEM is also often recognized for its PPC or “pay-per-click” system, in which you will pay only for those users who clicked on your ad. If planned well, it is a very profitable system, which is why it is very popular.

Likewise, there are many ways to do SEM on the Internet. Just as with organic techniques, you can also use it in different search engines, but in this case, it is more relevant to talk about Google Ads, formerly known as Google Adwords. Its system consists of offering brands a tool to find the most opportune keywords for their campaigns. Once the ad is created, users who include those keywords in their searches will see it in the top places.

But there are other SEM elements that will help you create more effective promotions. Some of them are the following.

• Segmented ads: These are those that are aimed at a single type of audience. You can select it in the Google Ads tool. They are very effective and work better with long-tail keyword campaigns.
• Group ad campaigns: These use variations of different keywords in a campaign with different types of ads.
• Metrics and statistics: You can see the results of your promotions in real time. In the case of Google, you can use Analytics to view them: click-through rate, impressions, and even the average cost per click. Analyzing them will be useful for future ads.

Advantages and disadvantages of SEM

SEM is one of the most used paid marketing strategies on the Internet. It is also one of the most effective for promoting your company online, but you may need to know some advantages and disadvantages before making a decision about which is better for your brand. Some of the most notable benefits are the following.

• You will be in the top results: When using Google Ads, you will see that your ad will be positioned in the top results immediately. It is one of the many benefits of PPC.
• You will edit every detail with greater precision: Thanks to the tool, you will improve the titles, description, and URL of your ads in one place and with greater precision.
• You can show images: Google Ads has a special function to show images of products in stock, so it will be more eye-catching for the user.
• You will increase the number of customers: You can focus the campaigns so that when a user clicks on your ad, it is because they are really interested in buying and not just in enjoying the content you offer.
• You will better control your budget: You have the opportunity to set a daily budget of what you want to spend, so you will not exceed the pay-per-click.
• You will experiment with A/B tests: This way you will know which ads will be more effective at the time of publication.

Apart from this list, you will surely find other advantages in the process of using Google Ads, but it is necessary that you take into account some disadvantages and cons that you will see below.

• It will be a bad investment if you do not know the market: It is recommended that you start a market study before doing SEM campaigns, as it can be more expensive than you think.
• The campaign stops if you do not invest: Even if you are having a good return on investment, it is necessary that you continue to inject money into the campaigns, so your traffic will not stop.
• Users ignore ads: Those who are not interested in buying at the moment will ignore your ads.

Distinguishing an ad and an organic result in the SERPs

Currently, it is very easy to distinguish an organic result from an ad in the SERPs. Since the implementation of Google Ads, even users understand when the results show an ad, as the difference is very obvious. Here is the key: normally, Google clearly indicates a label with the name ad.

But there are also other outstanding features that denote whether it is an organic or paid positioning. For example, some results can even appear in the upper right part of the page; this happens a lot in the case of ads with images. In contrast, organic results do not show any type of label and hide many details.

SEO and SEM, similarities

But you will surely agree that there are more similarities than differences between SEO and SEM. In fact, the main characteristic they share is the objective of getting a website to have a greater amount of traffic and conversion.

Although there are other aspects that make them more related, such as the following.

• To implement them, you must do a prior analysis: All the strategies you are going to implement, both in SEO and SEM, must have a specific objective, but to establish them you need to know your audience very well with a prior analysis.
• They require a keyword study: Both are closely related by this characteristic, since keywords play a fundamental role in the functioning of the entire search engine.
• The website must be of high quality: If you do not have a good quality site, your conversion rate will not go up, so you will be wasting time and effort on optimization, or a lot of money on ads.
• You can experiment and do tests in both cases: Although these tests in SEO have to be given a different approach, they are not exclusive to ad campaigns. You can also do it to test organic optimization strategies. Likewise, you can experiment and make the changes you want and at the time you want.

SEO and SEM, the main differences

By now you should know the main difference between the two: SEO uses organic strategies to boost a brand, while SEM puts positioning into practice through a paid system. Likewise, in organic optimization, it is not necessary to pay for each click. Even so, you cannot fail to know the rest of the differences between both strategies. Some that are worth knowing are the following.

• Ads can have call extensions, that is, they include a mobile number so that the user has the possibility of calling. In contrast, organic results use rich snippets, such as lists, emoticons, or rating stars.
• In Google Ads, you can select a very specific target audience; in organic results, it is not possible to do so.
• The results of paid ads are immediate, but in SEO it takes a little more time.
• Organic results can give you long-term profits; on the other hand, ads are ephemeral.
• With organic optimization, you can have up to 65% more in the click-through rate, something that does not happen with ads.
• When you put an organic optimization strategy into practice, you must take into account the changes in the Google algorithm, something you can ignore with Ads.
• You will also find a clear difference in terms of content. With ads, the texts are more promotional, but with SEO you can try different types of writing, incorporating more Inbound content.

Comparison of SEO vs SEM metrics

The difference between the available metrics at the end of each campaign is also very profound between both strategies. That is why you have this section to make a clearer comparison. Below are the statistics that you should take into account in each one.

• Number of keywords: When starting an organic campaign, you should use a limited number of keywords, but with Ads, you can use an unlimited number of keywords in each campaign.
• Cost: As for the cost rate, you will see that SEO will be governed by the investments you want to make in terms of work. For example, you can hire an external professional or a specialized agency. With AdWords, you can also do the same and hire an external agency, but this time you will also have to pay for each visit.
• CTR: This metric is in favor of paid ads, since as they are aimed at a specific audience, they can have up to 30% effectiveness. In contrast, organic results depend a lot on the position. There are studies that indicate the organic CTR depending on the position, for example, this one from Backlinko.

SEO prices vs SEM prices

It is difficult to talk about an exact price when it comes to search engine positioning strategies. However, everything will depend on the techniques you want to implement, since it would not be fair to say that ads will be more expensive because you have to pay for each visit. Sometimes, the investment for organic results can reach a similar cost.

But there is a catch, as you can inquire about the price of the tools you are going to need and thus have an estimated price for the entire campaign. This is usually very helpful when you plan to hire external professionals, thus avoiding possible scams. For example, if an agency charged you less than €300, it is possible that they are trying to fool you. This figure clearly indicates a low-quality SEO or SEM job.

Since analysis tools usually cost approximately €100 per month, the truth is that a more credible rate is around €600 and €1,500 per month, depending on the sector and competition.

Although you should pay attention to the cost per click in your paid ad campaigns, since if you are going to invest for many days, the rate can be an additional €200. There are many agencies that calculate their fees with a % of the advertising investment.

Which strategy to choose, SEO or SEM?

By now you should know a lot about both tools and which one might be better for your company. However, it may not be the best idea to use only one specifically. Many experts assure that organic SEO is the best option, especially when you want your company to have more and better results in the future.

But when you want to boost a website for the first time and immediately, ads can be your best option. But the truth is that both can complement each other and create a super strategy to give you double the sales.

In this way, it is necessary that you evaluate what the needs and objectives of your company are, so you can take into account the following aspects.

• Evaluate your competition. You can choose either of the two strategies, but only if you see that your competition has not yet explored good alternatives in each case.
• Understand your customers. If you know what they want or need, which is better when choosing between organic optimization or paid ads.
• Calculate the cost of each strategy, or ask for a quote if you are going to delegate this work to a professional. If you are just starting with online marketing for your small business, it may be more profitable to start with organic techniques.
• Evaluate the expectations for the future, since search engines are constantly changing. It may also be necessary to consider the expectations for the future and the benefits you can expect, for example, artificial intelligence, voice searches, etc. in SEO or hyper-personalization campaigns in SEM.

Conclusion: How to balance SEO and SEM strategies

Once you have been implementing one of these strategies for a couple of months, it is time for you to start complementing them, but you do not need to balance your efforts and your investment in half. In fact, many recommend that investing a larger percentage in SEO can provide better results.

So you could invest 70% more in it and leave the remaining 30% to invest in SEM. What is important, in my opinion, is not to bet on a single acquisition channel. You have to distribute more or less according to the ROI, the investment in SEO, SEM, Social Networks, Email Marketing, etc.

You can find the perfect balance when you start to analyze the results and adjust them to the needs of your company and the trends of the industry on the Internet.

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