At Red Shark Digital, search engine marketing services, we know navigating the world of SEO and SEM can be dizzying. Although you may have heard of the term SEO, you may not be as familiar with its sister term SEM. Although the two are similar, there are some key differences between them. SEM, or search engine marketing, is the collection of digital marketing strategies to increase your business’s visibility. SEM marketing can enlist both paid and unpaid tactics, but all aspects of SEM marketing are important to explore if you want your business’s site to rank. Let’s talk about three different types of search engine marketing services.

PPC

What it is:

PPC, or pay-per-click, advertising is when an advertiser pays a publisher every time a user clicks on one of their ads and is one of the most direct ways to get your product in front of your audience. When a potential customer searches a keyword or keyword phrase that advertisers have chosen to target, an ad with a product of theirs pertaining to that item will appear at the top of the user’s search. Let’s say a women’s clothing retailer wants to run PPC ads on their clothing items. An example of this would be if a user searches the term “red dress,” listings of a retailer’s red dresses for sale would appear to the customer. You can even customize your targeted audience based on age, location, gender, hobbies, and more. If you’re interested in investing in PPC strategy, Red Shark Digital’s search engine marketing services can deliver results.

When to use it:

• When you are looking for highly targeted results
• When you are looking for immediate results
• When you are looking to rank for your keyword category

Local SEO

What it is:

When you search for the term “restaurants” or “food” or “SEO services near me” on your mobile device at work, your results will likely vary from the results you see at home. This is because Google takes your location into consideration when you search for products or services. 46 percent of Google searches are looking for businesses and services in their local area. What’s more, a whopping 88 percent of those consumers will visit those locations within a day. You can help put your business on the map (literally and figuratively via Google Maps) by including a Google business listing in your search engine marketing efforts. Red Shark Digital, search engine marketing services, can easily add this feature to your business plan.

When to use it:

• You’re a business that has a large local customer base
• You’re a business looking to build a local customer base
• You have customers who are having a hard time locating you

Organic SEO

What it is:

Organic SEO is the use of any search engine marketing services used to elevate your site’s page rank within the search engine results. These methods can include consistent and relevant content, keyword research, quality back-linking, and competitor research. Since search engines prioritize sites with high community engagement, you can also take your organic SEO up a notch by simply interacting more with your customers. Creating social media pages for your business, keeping them updated, and most importantly, interacting with your customers are all great organic tactics. If you feel lost when it comes to the world of social media, our search engine marketing services and SEO services near me can create and manage your accounts for you. 71 percent of consumers who have a positive interaction with a business on social media reported they were more likely to recommend it to others. Whether through social media or other means, when it comes to organic SEO, our search engine marketing services believe building brand trust through people and algorithms is key.

When to use it:

• If you’re looking to build brand reputation
• If you’re short on advertising funds
• If you’re looking for long-term results

Red Shark Digital | Search Engine Marketing Services

We hope our breakdown of these three different SEM tactics gave you a better understanding of your SEO services near me that can work to expand your options. Still feeling stuck on where to start? Whether you’re a small-town start-up or an experienced chain, our full-service digital marketing agency can help.  If you’re ready to take the next step in helping your business grow, Red Shark Digital, search engine marketing services, is ready to talk.