Why SEM/SEO Is Always a Good Idea, Even in a Recession

What is SEO?

Search engine optimization, usually abbreviated as SEO, is the practice of creating and optimizing content in a way that helps visitors and search engine crawlers find relevant and valuable answers to their search queries. When done right, SEO will increase your search traffic and improve your audiences’ overall experience navigating your website.

There are many different ways to optimize your website, including:

- Creating unique content

- Including valuable keywords

- Removing duplicate content

- Keeping URLs short and simple

- Improving page load time

- Creating a sitemap

- Fixing broken links 

- Using alt text for images

What Is the Difference Between SEO and SEM?

Although SEO and SEM are often used interchangeably, they are not the same thing. SEM stands for search engine marketing and is a form of online marketing that aims to promote websites by increasing their visibility on search engine results pages through optimization and advertising. SEM attracts traffic and visibility both through organic and paid search.

SEO is a subset of SEM, it refers to the practice of optimizing web pages to improve their ranking in a ”natural” or ”organic” search result. SEO requires ongoing maintenance and evaluation to yield positive results.

SEO vs. PPC

Pay-Per-Click, better known as PPC, is the practice of paying for placement on search engine results pages. PPC is an attractive model for advertisers because they only pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. Although SEO and PPC share the same goal of getting more qualified traffic to your web pages, these two marketing strategies come with considerable differences. Like SEO, PPC is a subset of SEM.

In short, SEM is a form of online marketing that aims to promote websites by increasing their visibility on search engine results pages through optimization and advertising. SEO and PPC are both subsets of SEM used to increase web traffic.

SEO	PPC
Organic positions	Paid positions
Traffic over time	Immediate traffic
Long-term results	Immediate results
Ongoing efforts	One-time setup
Free/Low costs	Paid
SEO + PCC = SEM

Why Is SEO Important?

Picture this―you’re out with your friends, chatting about the weather, how work has been that week, the movies you’ve recently watched, etc. One of your friends says, “We’re looking to buy a house, does anyone know of a realtor they would recommend?” You think for a second before answering: “Google it.” This is happening all over the world. “Vegan restaurants in my area,” “What are the best stocks to invest in?”, “How to choose a gaming pc?”

Search engines have become our primary tool for finding answers. Although Google doesn’t share exact numbers, SEOTribunal.com reports that the search engine giant handles 3.8 million searches per minute or 5.6 billion searches per day. SEO is now a critical component of the online success of businesses. Without an SEO strategy in place, customers might have a hard time finding your business and are likely to find your competitors instead.

Why Nearshore SEM Efforts During a Recession?

With a looming recession, companies need to work as efficiently as possible. Pausing your SEM campaigns might seem like an easy way to trim costs, but it's not a recommended practice. Putting a hold on your campaigns means handing out your rankings and traffic―you would practically be leading your customers to competitors that are continuing their efforts.

Don’t forget that to be visible in the long term, you need to focus on SEO. There are several techniques that you can easily implement yourself. You can check if your website’s images are properly named (avoid names such as ‘IMG_1234.jpg’) and include alt tags. You can also check your website for internal links and descriptive anchor texts. These small changes can have a significant impact on your online visibility.

However, with Google’s ever-evolving algorithms, it makes sense to leave your SEM efforts to professionals. Optimizing your website, keeping up with changing algorithms, adjusting keywords, creating high-quality content, and link-building takes time and effort. These responsibilities can be a full-time job for an in-house marketing manager to maintain.

When outsourcing your SEM efforts, a professional agency will first audit your website. They can tell you how your website is performing and provide you with a list of action items on how to improve it. They can then help your business appear higher in online search results so that more people will be aware of your products or services.

Nearshore outsourcing your search engine marketing efforts costs money, but it has several advantages. You can avoid a full-time hire and the costs involved in recruiting and training staff. A professional agency knows what they are doing, and will keep you from wasting money on unnecessary expenses. By letting an external team handle your SEM efforts, you can focus on your core business. Plus, you won’t have to deal with early-morning or late-night meetings, as your external team will be in the same or similar time zone as you.

Key Takeaways

• SEM is a form of online marketing that aims to promote websites by increasing their visibility on search engine results pages through optimization (SEO) and advertising (PPC).
• For most people, search engines have become their primary tool for finding answers, making SEO a critical component to the online success of businesses.
• Pausing your SEM/SEO campaigns is never a recommended practice, as you would practically be leading your customers to competitors that are continuing their efforts.
• Letting a professional digital marketing agency handle your SEM efforts will save your business time, money, and energy.
• Nearshoring is the solution for staying on par with your SEM/SEO needs without the uncertainty of hiring temporary staff, or the expenses of hiring a full-time employee.

About Pixel506

Pixel506 is an award-winning nearshore outsourcing business that helps companies succeed in the digital world. Our services range from software, website, and mobile application development to content creation, digital transformation, SEO/SEM, and UI/UX―basically anything digital!

We could tell you how many years we have been around or how much our team has grown during those years, but what matters most is what we do best―designing, developing, and delivering quality digital solutions that help drive businesses forward.

Given the rising risk of an economic downturn, now is a good time to optimize your website to rank higher in search results, load faster, and reach more visitors. Pixel506 can help your business not just survive but thrive during the impending recession.

Fill out this form or email [email protected] to discover how our secure, scalable, and reliable solutions can solve even your toughest marketing challenges. We look forward to getting to know you and your business over a (digital) cup of coffee.