For anyone with experience in SEO and digital marketing, you’ve probably heard the term SEO thrown around. But unless this is your specialty, you may not understand exactly the relationship between SEO and digital marketing. Are they the same thing? Are they different? And if so, what differentiates the two?
Here, we take a closer look at SEO and digital marketing to gain insight on how these two terms are related. We dive into SEO, why it’s important, and how this set of practices should be a key piece of any successful digital marketing campaign.
WHAT IS SEO?
SEO, or search engine optimization, is not just one thing. Instead, SEO refers to a set of practices and tools aimed at improving how a website ranks on search engines like Google. The purpose of a search engine is to provide web users with the most relevant and trustworthy websites to answer their search queries.
Search engines do this by sorting through the web and then ranking sites on how well they meet the user’s needs. Through a variety of tools and strategies, such as keywords, backlinks, optimizing images and videos, and producing high-quality content, you can climb up Google’s ranking and reach more users.
WHY IS SEO IMPORTANT?
When’s the last time you looked for something on Google? For most of us, it was probably just a few hours (or minutes) ago. Web users know that Google is the place to go for trusted information, services, and products, which is why Google is by far the leader in online searches with roughly 5.6 billion searches performed each day.
What does this all mean for your online business? If you’re looking to reach more potential customers through organic (non-paid) web traffic, your site’s ranking on Google and other search engines makes all the difference.
Again, think back to your last online search. Did you scroll past the first page of Google’s results for the website you wanted? Most likely, you didn’t. In fact, according to a study by Ignite Visibility, the first page of Google gets roughly 90 percent of organic clicks. Clearly, if you’re looking to drive more traffic and conversions, the first page is where you need to be.
ON-PAGE OPTIMIZATION AND OFF-PAGE OPTIMIZATION
Generally, SEO experts divide their work into two specific approaches: on-page optimization and off-page optimization. On-page optimization, as the name suggests, focuses on changes done to your actual website to improve its search engine ranking. On-page optimization includes keywords, backlinks, developing high-quality content, and using relevant titles with optimized meta descriptions.
Off-page optimization, on the other hand, uses backlink management, guest posting on other sites, and strategic social media posts to improve your SEO. For the most effective SEO campaign, you’ll want to incorporate strategies from both on-page and off-page optimization to boost your ranking.
HOW IS SEO AND DIGITAL MARKETING DIFFERENT?
It can be helpful to draw a comparison to traditional marketing. Before the revolutionary advent of the internet, marketing consisted of direct sales, print advertising, television commercials, billboards, magazines, and referrals (just to name a few). Each one of these specific strategies formed just one part of marketing.
When comparing these terms, think of digital marketing as the larger, umbrella term (like traditional marketing) with SEO beneath it (like just print advertising, for example). There are many different types of digital marketing, including content marketing, email marketing, pay-per-click (PPC), and social media. SEO is just one of these methods for driving traffic and sales online and growing your business.
DIFFERENCE OF COST
One of the primary differences between SEO and digital marketing is that of cost. Outside of paying for an SEO expert and backlinks, SEO is a relatively low-cost method of driving organic traffic to your website. When a website optimizes to meet Google’s algorithm (and consistently updates with its changes), SEO can also lead to sustained, long-term success. As they say in the industry, SEO is a marathon, not a sprint.
Digital marketing, on the other hand, can incorporate a wide range of marketing strategies, which means that costs can quickly balloon. By utilizing content marketing, email marketing, and social media, digital marketing as a whole is a comprehensive way to reach potential customers online, but businesses should be cautious of the costs.
HOW TO OPTIMIZE YOUR WEBSITE FOR SEO
For most companies, hiring a team of SEO experts is the best way to see long-term SEO success. However, for those who aren’t ready to make that commitment, there are still effective ways that you can optimize your website for SEO and climb the search engine ladder. Here are ten tried and true ways to improve your website for SEO. By addressing these factors, you can easily improve the visibility of your site.Just use a strategic approach to prevent google unusual traffic as it will be profitable to your business.
1. High-quality content (well organized and long enough to address search intent).
2. Site speed.
3. Site security.
4. Keyword-rich content.
5. Optimized images and videos.
6. Internal linking.
7. Optimized meta descriptions and meta tags.
8. Alt tags for images.
9. Effective social media.
10. Avoiding duplicate content.
While SEO is more complex than these ten factors, they will provide a great start for boosting your site’s search engine ranking.
CONCLUSION – IS SEO A PART OF DIGITAL MARKETING?
Like content marketing, email marketing, or social media posts, SEO is an essential part of any comprehensive digital marketing campaign. If you’re looking to improve your website and drive organic traffic and sales (all in a relatively cost-effective way), you need to make SEO a core piece of your marketing campaign. Compared to the entire package of digital marketing tools and strategies, SEO is known as one of the most effective for improving your website and fueling long-term, sustainable success in the online marketplace.
One of the most effective ways to boost your ranking on search engines is by working with an experienced Denver SEO agency. These experts know how to improve your site through both on-page and off-page optimization methods. They can also give you the tools and knowledge to ensure the long-term success of your website and online business.
