If you are a small or medium business owner, chances are you have heard these mysterious abbreviations used more than once during business meetings, networking events or sales pitches. Often accompanied by trendy expressions such as organic search, inbound marketing, page ranking and online campaigns, these words are enhanced by familiar and welcome phrases: more visibility, increased sales and greater profits.

Propelled by fast-evolving technology, online marketing has evolved into a completely different phenomenon in recent years. Unless you are a professional working in Web marketing, it is normal that you may have a limited understanding of what these abbreviations mean and how they can have an impact on your business. When you compound this with confusing and contradictory information distributed by unqualified “specialists,” it is easy to see why so many business owners believe the effort required to understand it is not worth the potential benefit it may bring to their business.

But this couldn’t be further from truth.

Although the ins and outs of each strategy are completely different, the basics of modern online marketing activities are actually very easy to understand. And when you entrust your Web marketing to experienced professionals, more visibility, increased sales and greater profits become a reality – and not just words used to improve a sales pitch.

The purpose of this article is to shed light on what the abbreviations SEM, SEO and PPC stand for, how they differ from each other and what is included in our service offer for each of them. We have enhanced the presentation with images and graphs and broken it down into simple descriptions to make it easier for you to understand.

SEM: Search Engine Marketing

SEM is a way to promote your website by improving its positioning in search engine results through natural or paid optimization.

Search engines show both natural and paid results for most search queries. First page natural results are obtained through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques. First page paid results are obtained through Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns.

FIRST PAGE SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS

SEO: Search Engine Optimization

To get better natural positioning, you need to invest in SEO. Below are the main tasks involved in the Search Engine Optimization service we offer. However, keep in mind that SEO is a vast field that can be supplemented by various techniques, such as consistent content distribution (blogging), which is an entirely separate service.

RESEARCH
Analysis of your competition and market

SEO STRATEGY
Analysis, organization and prioritization of your company’s services and products

KEYWORD RESEARCH
Selection of the best performing and most relevant keywords
Continuous keyword adjustment as your company and your prospects evolve

ON-PAGE OPTIMIZATION
Content and structure optimization
Creation of landing pages
Optimization of URLs as well as meta and title tags

OFF-PAGE OPTIMIZATION
Link-building from relevant websites

MONTHLY REPORTING
Detailed keyword ranking and traffic reports each month

MONTHLY REPORTS

PPC: Pay Per Click

For first page paid positioning, you need to invest in PPC advertising. This service includes the tasks described below:

RESEARCH
Analysis of your competition and market niche

PPC STRATEGY
Analysis, organization and prioritization of your company’s services and products

KEYWORD RESEARCH
Selection of the best performing and most relevant keywords
Continuous keyword adjustment as your company and your prospects evolve

ON-PAGE OPTIMIZATION
Content and structure optimization

CAMPAIGN CREATION
Creation and optimization of campaigns and ad groups

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT
Ongoing adjustment: keywords, ads, budget, bidding amounts, etc.

MONTHLY REPORTING
Detailed keyword ranking and traffic reports each month

ADWORDS CAMPAIGNS

Even though we can also create and manage Microsoft Bing campaigns for you, the main paid advertising platform is Google AdWords. Based on your company’s needs, AdWords offers different types of campaigns to help manage your online ad. Below are brief descriptions of the main campaigns that we offer:

CONVERSION CAMPAIGNS: Designed to obtain clicks, calls and conversions

TEXT AD CAMPAIGNS
Increase visits to your website: users click on your ad and go to your website

CALL-ONLY CAMPAIGNS
Increase calls to your company: users tap on your phone number from the ad and call you directly

RE-MARKETING CAMPAIGNS
Further increase conversions: ads are only shown to users who have already visited your website, but have not yet converted

BRANDING CAMPAIGNS: Designed to increase recognition and awareness of your brand

TEXT AND IMAGE ADS
Placed on Google Display Network websites

VIDEO CAMPAIGNS
Video ads on You Tube

CALL-ONLY ADS

Combining PPC and SEO to improve your SEM

When PPC and SEO techniques are used together, they have a three-fold impact on your online presence:

MULTIPLE EXPOSURE: Appearing more than once on the same page
More visibility resulting in ncreased trust and notoriety

DATA ANALYSIS EXCHANGE: PPC data analysis benefits
Continuous keyword and user behaviour analysis based on conversions

REDUCED COSTS: Cost per click benefit
Search engine optimized landing pages reduce cost per click

FIRST PAGE RESULTS

SEM: Working with Azura

When selecting an agency to assist you with your Search Engine Marketing needs, be sure to take the time to evaluate the agency’s track record and portfolio. Most SEM services require a long-term commitment and a substantial amount of time and money, but if you do not choose the right partner from the outset, all your efforts may be in vain. Let Azura help put you on the right path, one that will ultimately lead to more visibility, increased sales and greater profits!

Below are just some of the benefits of working with Azura. Don’t hesitate to contact us a for a complete presentation on how we can help you improve your bottom line through clear and well-defined SEM strategies that meet your specific needs.

GOOGLE
Certified Google Partner

ADWORDS AND BING ADS
Campaign maintenance in both AdWords and Bing Ads

EXPERIENCE
Active in SEM industry since 2007

PROACTIVE APPROACH
Continuous suggestions and support

TRANSPARENCY
Monthly reports show tasks completed and progress

ADAPTABILITY
Flexible approach based on insights and research