If you’re just getting started with your online marketing, you are probably familiar with some of the basic methods of marketing you can use for your website. Out of those, you may be hearing about Lakeland SEO and SEM as a good starting point for your online marketing strategy. However, to those not familiar with the industry, it sounds like the two are exactly the same.

Long story short, these are not the same. If you want to make sure that you want these to be executed properly, it’s important that you understand the difference between your Lakeland SEO and SEM strategies. Understanding the difference between the two is a good way of understanding how each one can be used for your online marketing.

What is SEO?

To start with, SEO is a form of online marketing which is used to increase your website’s ranking on search engines. The reason why there is such an emphasis on website ranking is the fact that this channel is one of the biggest sources of organic traffic. Organic traffic is also one of the largest sources of conversions, which is the main goal for any website. However, the way your website rank is determined relies heavily on a combination of factors and how the algorithm reads your website.

What is SEM?

On the other hand, you have SEM, or search engine optimization. On the surface, it may seem exactly the same as SEO, but the main difference between the two is that SEM relies on paid ads in its marketing methods. SEM comprises of PPC and other forms of paid ads to increase your website’s online visibility. However, there is no denying the similarities between SEO and SMM, as these two forms of online marketing rely on keywords to target, as these are what your online users will use to find your website.

Which one should I choose?

When it comes to choosing between the two, there is no definite choice that will guarantee success for your online marketing strategy. In fact, while there is no one better choice over another, you may be surprised to find that both strategies work the best as a combination of the two.

Because these two methods use many of the same methods, it uses a lot of the same research. When done right, the combination of Lakeland SEO and SEM can do a lot for your website’s online presence via search engine results.

If you’re just starting out, you can run your SEO strategy in the background, as this takes some time to build up. In the meantime, you can run your SEM ads. This allows you to give your website a good chance from the get-go to get noticed. Your SEM gets your site to the top of search engines, while your SEO works in the background to keep it there.