SEO and SEA: differences and importance
SEO and SEA: differences and importance
Search engines are an important part of current brand building due to increasing digitalization. In today's media age, SEO and SEA are other buzzwords in the jargon of marketing experts, but what exactly is behind these terms and what role do they play in branding? Search engine marketing represents an important branch of digital marketing that aims to draw the attention of online searchers to your website in order to increase the number of visitors to your website and acquire more new customers. search engine marketing generally aims to increase the visibility of your company and your brand in search engines, increase sales and profits as well as website traffic and also have a positive impact on your corporate image. In this context, it is important to understand that search engine marketing (SEM) can be divided into SEO and SEA.
Clear differences: position and costs
In order to make a clear distinction between the terms search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine advertising (SEA), reference should be made to the position of each in the search results and the costs incurred for placement. In contrast to search engine advertising, where advertisers have to pay costs per click (CPC), natural search results through search engine optimization (SEO) are not associated with any costs; the position of SEA entries is at the top and bottom of the search results, whereas SEO entries are in the middle section. With SEO, website content is marked up in accordance with Google's regulations to make it easier to find and index. In order to achieve the highest possible reach in web searches, it is particularly important to optimize the available data, making SEO an important part of increasing brand awareness. The ranking of a website for specific search terms is determined by many different factors. As a rule, the industry, the selected keywords and the updating of these influence the position at the top. However, according to its own information, Google takes more than 200 other factors into account when calculating the ranking. Since search engine advertising (SEA) is taking up more and more space on the results page and most users are not aware of the difference between SEO and SEA, the first search results are the most frequently accessed.
Search engine marketing increases brand visibility
In general, the use of search engine marketing increases the visibility of the brand. The consumer gets to know the brand during the current search, remembers it or is reminded of it during another search query. It has been proven that customers who try to build their brand through search engines have higher conversion rates. Consequently, today's brand building can be supported in many ways by targeted search engine marketing, and in some respects SEO can be compared to classic brand building. If a brand has a good image and a good standing in a target group, repeated reminders of the brand's qualities are not needed as often. Similar parallels can be drawn with search engine optimization. It takes time to develop a prominent position in SEO, but if this is recognized by users and perceived as useful, then this position can become a partially reliable continuum in the further expansion of brand building.
Distribution of power between companies and consumers is changing
Furthermore, digitalization is changing the distribution of power between companies and their consumers. Due to the growing spread of the internet, the consumer is being placed more at the center of a brand's activities. As a result, all branding strategies are also becoming more customer-oriented in terms of SEO and SEA activities. This is because Google also places the consumer at the center of its business activities. This philosophy of thought sympathizes with the current brand development within the digital age, on the basis of which the directions for future brand strategies are set. The focus on the consumer can be seen as positive, as everyone spends the majority of their lives in the role of consumer. For these reasons, the increasing importance of search engine marketing and its integration into online marketing as well as the close connection to content marketing becomes clear. The integration of SEO and SEA are therefore indispensable components of current and future brand building.* Marco Englert (MBA) is a manager, consultant and coach who focuses on management innovations for the sustainable control of increasing dynaxity and digital transformation. As Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Executive Director Strategy & Digital Transformation, he is responsible for modeling and implementing management strategies at Motodox GmbH. He has excellent research and leadership know-how and is a certified specialist for brand communication, online marketing manager, digital sales manager, employer brand manager and manager for agile organizational development (Quadriga University).** Dr. Anabel Ternès is the founder of several tech companies. She is committed to future orientation and digital competence. Anabel Ternès is also CEO and founder of Get Your Wings GmbH, board member of NFTE Germany and mentor of StartupTEENS. As Managing Director, she heads the Institute for Sustainable Management (IISM), is a speaker, expert and author on digitalization, and holds a professorship in e-business. Anabel Ternès has many years of management experience in the business development of international companies.
