<p style="text-align: justify;">For years there has been an emphasis on SEO as the optimal tool for one’s business success in the online world. While it empirical when it comes to search engine rankings, the approach to succeeding at SEO has evolved, leaving marketers in a position where they have to apply additional tactics to achieve the same results.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Here then is where SEM (Search Engine Marketing) comes in. That refers to the placing of ads to appear above search results, meaning that it appears on top of the results page after a user searches various keywords.What makes this ideal, and a likely companion with traditional SEO is that with it, search engines offer performance related data that aids a marketer in establishing the effectiveness of an SEM approach.</p>
<p><img class="alignright wp-image-18255 size-full" src="https://medusamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Are-you-Using-SEO-in-Marketing-your-Brand-e1532146317953.jpg" alt="Are you Using SEO in Marketing your Brand? Consider Adding SEM" width="400" height="401" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Consider someone searching for tax services online and, above the top results, the see a <a href="https://www.goodservicetax.com">GST Lawyer</a>. The person will likely be pulled to click on the link before making their way back to the results page. With the rise of specialized lawyers vying for users’ attention, a person searching for <a href="https://www.yelp.ca/biz/diamond-and-diamond-lawyers-toronto">Diamond and Diamond Reviews</a> would likely come across a paid ad- this places companies in a position where they have more control in the content generated. It, therefore, serves as a marketing tool, and to a degree, as a PR tool as well.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Here are three reasons why adding SEM to a marketing mix is beneficial</p>
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<h2><strong> SEO is complex</strong></h2>
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<p style="text-align: justify;">The complexity of what SEO is now than it was five years ago should not intimidate any marketer, but its unpredictable nature places them in limbo as they cannot conclusively know why, despite their best efforts, their website and content aren’t highly ranked. The main reason is that Google, and other search engines, are looking out for the best interests of their users and shielding them from questionable tactics that marketers use to attract traffic to their sites. Therefore, once a marketer things they have cracked the algorithm, it changes. With SEM,however, a person is in charge; one chooses the keywords and pays to have it visible.</p>
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<h2><strong> SEM provides data, SEO doesn’t</strong></h2>
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<p style="text-align: justify;">For a marketer, ROI is what lets them know what marketing tactics are worth employing and which ones are not yielding desired results. With SEO, it is difficult to know what percentage of the leads came from SEO efforts. With SEM,however, the search engine, just as social media and Google analytics, tell you how many people accessed the content via the paid ad. That way, the business knows if doing so was a worthy investment.</p>
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<h2><strong> Best efforts pay off</strong></h2>
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<p style="text-align: justify;">As mentioned with SEO, best efforts may go unnoticed. With SEM, it is the best well-written ad that pays off. When one ranks second or third (which in itself is what SEO writers aim to place a business on search results), one can check out their competition and establish what aspects need changing to make to rank higher. It, therefore, becomes a matter of ensuring that keywords and content are well executed. With each change, one can determine the impact.</p>