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SEO vs SEM vs SMM vs SMO: Know the Differences and Benefits of Each

SEO vs SEM vs SMM vs SMO: Know the Differences and Benefits of Each

So we already know the crazy benefits that correctly executed SEO efforts can yield, taking your business to new levels daily with little to no input for you as the business owner – but what about SEM, SMM and SMO? Chances are these terms are foreign to you – so here is a quick breakdown of each – to help you figure out which aspects you may be lacking when trying to get to page 1 on Google!

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

“SEO deals with your company’s PRIMARY website’s ranking on a search engine result page (SERP) and how the indexed result is displayed. SEO techniques try to improve a websites search engine rankings and gain that website more visibility and traffic.

SEO techniques can include optimizing how the website is built, what keywords are used in the Title Tags, Meta Tags, and Meta Descriptions, how often your website is updated, and how fast your website loads on a desktop and mobile device.”

 

SEM (Search Engine Marketing)

“SEM is usually closely associated with SEO. SEM is loosely defined as using paid search engine traffic to gain visibility. Paid results usually appear on the top and right side of the “organic” search results. There are many systems for SEM, but the largest platforms are Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing and Microsoft adCenter.

Building a SEM campaign for your business can be complex due to the vast amount of features and tools developed by ad platform creators. Marketers must consider all keywords associated with the business, geographic location, click through rates (CTR), costs per click (CPC), advertisement copy and many other factors.”

 

SMO (Social Media Optimization)

“SMO is a relatively new term due to the advent of Social Media Marketing. SMO entails developing profiles on social networks for your business so members of that network can view and share your profile with others. The goal is to attract more members to your online community and provide them with valuable, relevant information.

SMO can also include the process of optimizing social business listings such as Yelp, Insider Pages and Google My Business. Ensuring that these listings are accurate can help with organic search engine rankings.”

 

SMM (Social Media Marketing)

“Social Media Marketing is about promoting a business via social media channels and includes conversing with clients on their chosen social networks. It can also include “Paid Social Search” or social paid advertising. Paid social search is much like SEM but adds behavioural targeting to the equation. A majority of this advertising is based on a PPC model, meaning advertisers only pay when a user clicks on the advertisement.”

h/t to thinkbonfire.com for the information sourced in this article!

 

Want to get in touch with experts who can carry out everything listed above – and more? Click here to get in touch with Digital Results today!

 

Cover Image Credit: LinkedIn 

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