If you’re reading this, I presume you’re interested in online marketing and digital marketing, and are looking for ways to improve your knowledge and skill-set. Maybe you’ve heard of SEO (search engine optimization) or SEM (search engine marketing), and are wondering what they mean and how you can get involved. If so, this article is for you. It’s a short introduction to SEO and SEM, and will teach you the basics you need to know to get started. Hopefully, this will give you enough knowledge to make the right decisions for your own business, and help you choose the right tools for the work you need to do. Let’s get into it.
What Is SEO?
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of getting a website to show up when a customer searches for something using a search engine. Getting a website to show up when a customer searches for something is called optimization, and SEO is the process of optimizing a website to get the best possible results from a search engine. There are a number of factors Google and other search engines take into consideration when ranking websites, such as the content of the site, backlinks, and more. That’s a lot to take into consideration, and that’s probably why SEO is so difficult. It takes knowledge and time to learn how to properly do SEO for your own website. If you’re looking to get started, try these resources:
- SEMrush (Pro): (free) (review): (5+ stars) (Quality Score): 94 (SEMrush is a one-stop-shop for all your digital marketing needs. From SEO to PPC (Pay Per Click), you can find all the answers you need in one place. With SEMrush, you can get all the citations and reports you need to make the right decisions for your business. Get started today.
- HubSpot (review): (4.8 stars) (free trial): (monthly $14.95) (Pro plan): (12+ users) (Quality Score): 79 (HubSpot is a leading business management software that allows you to create and automate marketing campaigns, track performance, and analyze results with ease. It also integrates with dozens of other platforms and services, so you can connect with your customers, partners, and employees no matter where they are in one place. Try HubSpot now
- Instagram (review): (4.7 stars) (free trial): (monthly $14.99) (Pro plan): (12+ users) (Quality Score): 75 (Instagram is the largest social media network in the world, with over a billion active users each month. It’s also incredibly flexible, which makes it great for use with business. You can create a business account on Instagram, connect your accounts, and start using the platform to promote your products and grow your business.
- Twitter (review): (4.6 stars) (free trial): (monthly $14.99) (Pro plan): (12+ users) (Quality Score): 75 (Twitter is the world’s largest social media network, and the second largest network overall, with over a billion active monthly users as of December 2021. It also has the third largest mobile audience, with over 800 million monthly active users. You can create a business account on Twitter, connect your accounts, and start using the platform to promote your products and grow your business.
- Linkedin (review): (4.5 stars) (free trial): (monthly $14.99) (Pro plan): (12+ users) (Quality Score): 68 (Linkedin is the world’s largest professional network, and the second largest network overall, with over 500 million active monthly users as of December 2021. You can create a business account on Linkedin, connect your accounts, and start using the platform to promote your products and grow your business.
- YouTube (review): (4.6 stars) (free trial): (monthly $14.99) (Pro plan): (12+ users) (Quality Score): 64 (YouTube is one of the world’s most popular video hosting platforms, with over a billion active monthly users and over 300 million daily active users as of December 2021. You can create a business account on YouTube, connect your accounts, and start using the platform to promote your products and grow your business.
- Pinterest (review): (4.7 stars) (free trial): (monthly $14.99) (Pro plan): (12+ users) (Quality Score): 60 (Pinterest is a social media platform that’s all about inspiring people to create beautiful and imaginative things. You can create a business account on Pinterest, connect your accounts, and start using the platform to promote your products and grow your business.
- Snapchat (review): (4.7 stars) (free trial): (monthly $14.99) (Pro plan): (12+ users) (Quality Score): 63 (Snapchat is a social media platform that was originally designed for short-form videos. You can create a business account on Snapchat, connect your accounts, and start using the platform to promote your products and grow your business.
What Is SEM?
SEM, or search engine marketing, is the process of getting a website to show up when a consumer searches for something using a search engine. Getting a website to show up when a consumer searches for something is called optimization, and SEM is the process of optimizing a website to get the best possible results from a search engine. As with SEO, there are a number of factors that Google and other search engines take into consideration when ranking websites, such as the content of the site, backlinks, and more. SEM is a lot easier to do than SEO because you don’t need to worry about getting penalized by Google for trying to game the system. Let’s look at some of the differences between SEO and SEM: