What is all that actually? SEO, SEA, SEM?

SEM means search engine marketing (search engine marketing) with the sub-areas of SEO and SEA.

SEO stands for search engine optimization (search engine optimization) and SEA stands for search engine advertising (search engine advertising).

One or the other has certainly heard the term SEO before. However, a lot has happened here in recent years and SEO from 2018 or even from 2020 is not comparable with today's algorithms.

Just a few years ago, the number The keywords are decisive, whereas today it is decisively based on the quality and the Content The keywords arrive in order to be shown as high as possible in organic (i.e.: free, unpaid) search results. This is logically different for SEA content, which is paid search results and usually requires a certain amount per click. One of the drawbacks of SEA is that positioning is only prioritized as long as the customer pays.

We would like to illustrate this with an example. A Google user searches for: “What to do if you have a headache? ”.

Product placements about headache pills (SEA) usually appear on the right side, but the SEO ranking works on the principle of which website contains the most content-rich texts, such as the pages of pharmacies, health insurance companies or pages where tips for relieving or home remedies for headaches can be found.

conclusion

If you want to be found quickly and effectively online today, there is definitely no way around a good strategy in search engine marketing. SEO and SEA have advantages and disadvantages, and a combination — at least temporarily — is often a good choice. Ultimately, however, it is a matter of looking at the company goals, the marketing strategy and, of course, the budget and deriving a meaningful SEM from this, which is usually “only” one component of the entire marketing plan.

“Successful SEO is not about tricking Google. It's about PARTNERING with Google to provide the best search results for Google's users.” Phil Frost, Main Street ROI

There are certainly still many unanswered questions about this. If you are interested in how SEM can help your company, then simply arrange a non-binding appointment with us. We are delighted!