5 reasons to choose SEM vs SEO to grow your business in 2024
Running a business in 2024 means navigating a constantly-evolving digital landscape. Having a website is a great start, but how do people actually find it? Enter SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing). Ideally, you are pursuing both. But - if you have to prioritize - here’s a compelling case for choosing SEM. Let’s start with the basics.
And yes, it’s true that AI is transforming this space as we speak, but let’s look at these core fundamentals first and address AI in a future article.
What is SEO and SEM?
When someone uses a search engine like Google or Bing to look for a particular service, they will see a list of results. The bulk of results will be a list of websites, ranked based on how relevant they are to your search. But why these websites and why this order? The answer - SEO and SEM, two distinct practices that aim to improve a website’s visibility on search engines.
SEO is about optimizing visibility for a website to rank higher in organic search results.
SEM uses paid advertising to rank a website at the top of search results, often accompanied by the word ‘Sponsored.’ Here we are using it to mean the same as Pay Per Click, or PPC.
Knowing that less than 1% of users make it past the first page, that initial results page is precious real estate in someone’s moment of attention. If you want your business to capture that moment, here are 5 reasons why you should start with SEM:
1. Faster Results
SEO: Organic rankings are earned through content quality, website authority, user experience, among others. Google evaluates these factors by looking primarily at:
Keywords (actual words on your website)
Meta tags (words describing content on your site in the website code)
Backlinks (quality and quantity of links to and from your website)
Challenge: There is a common misconception that SEO is ‘free.’ This is only true once a site has sufficient content and authority to claim and hold a high rank. Prior to that, it takes months of consistent effort to get there. If you are not able to do this yourself, hiring a specialist costs $1K-$2.5K per month for 6-9 months of work.
SEM: When you run paid search ads, your website can appear on the first page of results almost instantly. This immediate visibility drives traffic and potential customers to your site without waiting for organic rankings to improve.
SEO is a long-term game, but SEM is your friend if you want speed. Reduced time to market means faster cash flow for your business.
2. Audience Targeting Precision
SEO: Casts a wide net, so that anyone who searches for your services can see it.
Challenge: There is no control around who sees and clicks on your website. You’ll need to spend precious time filtering unqualified leads through calls or emails.
SEM: Lets you aim for the bullseye. Want to reach local coffee lovers? SEM serves your ad to caffeine enthusiasts within a 5-mile radius. Expanding your flower delivery to select cities? SEM instantly connects you with people in those cities. You choose who sees your ads—based on keywords, geography, business hours, and more.
SEM gives you precise control over your audience, increasing the chances of reaching the ideal customers for your business.
3. Ability to Scale Visibility Up and Down
SEO: It’s a slow and steady process - as your site ranks higher, more people see it.
Challenge: What if you run a seasonal business like a Christmas tree farm? Or have a big promotion for Valentine’s Day? If you’re just using SEO, you’re not able to increase your visibility with demand. You’re missing the opportunity to convert search traffic into customers.
SEM: It’s like a volume dial on speaker - you can dial up your targeted campaigns to increase your visibility during peak seasons, and dial down when you’re struggling to keep up with demand. You adjust your daily budget accordingly.
SEM lets you scale up and down the number of people that see your message every day, to align visibility with business capacity and seasonality.
4. Visibility to Broader Audiences
SEO: Small businesses usually first show up in search results when people type in the business name. If local yogies look for “Harmony Yoga Studio” and are located nearby, your business will appear.
Challenge: It works if your business name is widely known. Most likely, your potential customers are going to look for “yoga studios near me”. For the majority of businesses, there will be 10x-100x more people looking for service “near me” vs “business name”.
SEM: The typical click-through rate (CTR) is 5%-15%. Since you pay only when people actually click, this means that 75%-95% of impressions are essentially free to you. This “free” advertising exposes your business name to a much larger audience. Later, when they look for a service and your name pops up, they are more likely to choose you because your business feels more familiar. It’s science.
SEM gets you in front of broader audiences, which builds brand familiarity through repeat exposure and leads to increased future conversions.
5. Data-Driven Insights
SEO: As your rank increases and you have more website traffic, you start seeing some analytics like unique visitors, time on page, and bounce rates.
Challenge: What can you do with this data to improve your business? You can use this to improve the website experience. However, it doesn’t tell you how to better reach new customers.
SEM: In addition to website analytics, you also learn what people are actually looking for. It shows you which keywords convert, which ad copy resonates, and which locations have highest demand. You also see the high-volume search trends that can inform how you shape your offerings. For example, your salon offers highlights, but this summer everyone wants lowlights - same skill, new offering.
SEM provides valuable data on user behavior, which serve as actionable insights for understanding and responding to market needs.
In summary, while SEO is essential for long-term organic growth and credibility, SEM offers immediate results, precise targeting, and greater control over your advertising efforts.
