Differences and similarities in SEO and SEA
There is a great deal of confusion about terminology in the search engine space, with marketers frequently using terms interchangeably and inaccurately. So, to get on the same page, here are definitions for Search Engine Marketing (SEM), which is the broad term that covers any type of marketing via search engines, and the two disciplines that comprise it: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Advertising (SEA). Below is a graph showing where on Google, as a search engine example, the results of optimization and SEA campaigns appear:
So how do marketers achieve these positions in the search engine listings?
Optimization, or SEO, makes a website more attractive to the search engines. The key areas of importance to search engines are page-specific title tags, visible text (the copy that a person would read on a web page), in-bound links from quality sites, and clean programming. Search engines are also more attracted to sites that have content that is updated more often than other sites.
You will frequently hear SEO results called “natural,’ “organic,” or “editorial” listings because these are the results that the search engines pull up themselves—no one has paid the search engines for the rankings or positions in the results. When no sites are optimized for a search term, the sites that the search engines consider the best match for the searchers query get top rankings. When sites have been optimized, those that have the best combination of factors that the search engines value will rise to the top of the rankings. For this reason, SEO is frequently compared to media relations or PR programs—the media (or search engines in this case) can be influenced and persuaded with good information, but not “bought.”
Like public relations or media relations programs, SEO campaigns take time to take hold, with success building steadily over several months. SEO is a new and detailed discipline requiring experts who invest heavily in constantly researching to stay abreast of the changes the search engines make to their algorithms that determine which sites get the highest rankings. Because it is such a niche discipline, ad agencies of all sizes as well as interactive agencies and web development firms tend to partner with firms that focus exclusively on SEM.
SEO experts work in tandem with a website’s creative and programming teams. They make recommendations for which keywords to target with SEO based on how frequently various terms and phrases are searched. They provide page-specific guidance to copywriters, designers, and programmers, always working to balance brand requirements with practices that will be accepted and rewarded by the search engines.
Also, like public relations, SEO is not a one-time event. Ongoing work is required to generate in-bound links from other sites, analyze the competitive environment, optimize new site content and make recommendations for improving performance through a variety of on and off-site programs.
While no quality SEO firm will guarantee results (just as no quality PR firm would “guarantee” an article in The Wall Street Journal), a company’s track record should tell the right story. DBE uses only 100% search-engine approved` strategies and tactics, so you are always assured your site will not be penalized because of improper practices. We strictly adhere to our industry’s highest standards and code of ethics.
Search Engine Advertising, also called SEA or “Pay Per Click” Advertising, on the other hand, is advertising. Specifically, it’s purchasing, through a real-time auction process, keywords on the major search engines. When a potential buyer enters, for example, “widgets,” ads for widgets would appear near but not mixed in with the “natural” listings generated by SEO. With SEA, you only pay for the ad when the consumer clicks on it.
Your SEM firm works with you to determine which keywords will be purchased, sets budget parameters, writes the ads, and manages the insertion of those ads through the dynamic bidding system. Results are reported on a regular basis, with information constantly fed back into the program to improve performance.
SEA is a highly dynamic environment, with advertisers continually updating their bids, jockeying for position in the paid listings, and rewriting their ads to get a higher ROI. This means that your SEM firm should be actively monitoring your ads, adjusting bids to maintain optimal positions (not just clicks, but conversions too) and suggesting copy changes on a regular basis to ensure your programs are delivering for you.
DBE’s team of SEA experts are constantly improving our clients’ ad performance, generating more clicks at lower costs with higher conversions to sales and earning top praise from our clients month after month.
Studies repeatedly show that most consumers click on SEO results before they will click on paid ads (SEA) and that once SEO takes hold, for most categories it is more cost-effective than SEA. That being said, many marketers are finding that SEA is great for launching or increasing a presence on the search engines and using it as a complement to their SEO programs.
Here is a snapshot view of the SEO=PR/SEA=Advertising comparison that many marketers have found useful:
Studies consistently show that both consumers and business searchers tend to find natural listing more relevant and valued than paid listings with the exception of on AOL search, which is consumer focused. On AOL, searchers tend to value both types of SEM equally. Anecdotal research has shown when visitors are in shopping mode, they tend to look at both types of results. All of that being said, SEA is of value when a guaranteed presence in the top listings is critical or when a marketer wants to dominate the first page of search results with both SEO and SEA listings.
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