“SEM/PPC is cheating! SEO rules!”
I’ve been saying this for years. Seriously: Unless you need instant/temporary results: Why would you spend money on Google ads (paying per click) when you can essentially get free (organic) traffic with proper SEO?
- SEM = Search Engine Marketing
- PPC = Pay Per Click – Google ads, etc.
- SEO = Search Engine Optimization
SEO is about getting your website to organically rank on a search engine results page (aka: SERP) – and not having to pay for each click
SEM/Paying Per Click (aka: PPC) is about paying to have your website show up on the search engine results page (SERP) by PAYING for each click – instant, expensive and only as long lasting as your bank account allows
Keep in mind that if your website has proper SEO your website will always be on the search engine results pages – whereas PPC turns off when your budget runs out.
Make sure your SEO is solid before spending money ($$$) on Google/Bing/Facebook ads and paying for each click (aka: SEM/PPC)
- What is search engine marketing? – Microsoft Advertising
- Search engine marketing – Optimizely
- The Ultimate Guide to SEM (Search Engine Marketing) (hubspot.com)
“Search engine marketing is also alternately referred to as paid search or pay per click (PPC).”
– Optimizely