Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) are very similar in terms of the end goal. With both strategies, most marketers are looking to improve their visibility online and increase lead generation efforts. Both also require constant attention and adjustment in order to be effective.
On the organic side of things, SEO specialists strive to land their website(s) on the first page of SERPs for keywords that will be the most fruitful for their business. For search engine marketers, the goal is also the first page of results, and as with SEO, the higher up on the page, the better.
For agencies specializing in both SEO and SEM, there are several ways in which the two strategies can work together.
Keywords
Keywords are the essence of both SEO and SEM strategies. As mentioned, the goal is to have your website appear above all competitors when potential customers are searching for products and services your business offers. With both SEO and SEM, it’s best to start your keyword list off small and grow it over time. SEO and SEM specialists can utilize Google’s free suite of tools, including Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools to identify new possibilities for keywords as the data suggests. If a keyword is super important to the growth of your digital marketing campaigns, there is no reason not to use it in both your SEO and SEM campaigns. SEO specialists can also utilize SEM tools, like the AdWords Keyword Planner to get new keyword ideas, traffic forecasts and the competitiveness of certain keywords.
Remarketing
Over time, you may find that many of your actual conversions – both organic and paid – do not happen the first time the converter visits your website. To take advantage of this trend, marketers can use Google Analytics to build a remarketing list. With said list, ads can be shown to potential customers who have completed an action on your website before, such as simply visiting it once or having stayed on your website for a certain duration. Both are decent indicators that the visitor is interested in your business’s product or services. Remarketing is a powerful branding and lead gen tool that is a good fit for any marketers looking to utilize SEO and SEM-generated data.
Content and UX
Writing quality content and having a user-friendly website is not only good for SEO, but your SEM campaigns as well. AdWords’ Quality Score takes into account the information on your ad destination pages in terms of its quality and relevance. AdWords also looks at the experience of your landing pages, examining ease-of-use, calls-to-action and the overall layout. Whether your potential customers arrive on your website organically or through paid campaigns, you need to provide them with the information they are looking for and opportunities to take action if interested in your products and services.