SEO & SEM… Where To Start?

Tiffany Weimar - December 29, 2011

One of the advantages of paid advertising is the ability to show up in the search results and through display channels very quickly. Thus, unlike SEO, paid advertising makes it possible to get virtually immediate traffic to a website.

In most cases, an effective Search Engine Optimization program requires a greater upfront investment.  However, the long-term benefits can exceed those of paid advertising in that, as soon as a paid advertising campaign is turned off, your site will no longer display in the search engines and receive traffic. 

Paid advertising gives you the ability to monitor and adjust your ad spend on a consistent basis.  Conversely, a successful SEO strategy gives you the ability to “own” organic real estate over time.  Please note though, SEO is often referred to as a “moving target”.  SEO requires constant attention and effort.  Whether it is blogging, submitting articles, link building or being active in Social Media, Search Engine Optimization needs to be tended to by an individual or team of individuals in order to be successful.  

In conclusion, most profitable online marketers are heavily involved with both SEO & SEM.  As a result, they benefit from receiving consistent traffic to their website, while meticulously working to garner better positions for important keywords in the Natural results.