Proterra is here to help. As a company with a longstanding commitment to staying abreast of the exciting developments in communications technologies, that are remaking marketing on a daily basis. We’ve learned how to analyze a company’s needs – and its budget – and recommend, develop, and deploy SEM strategies and campaigns that address the marketing needs of all sorts of different sizes, industries, cultures, and ambitions.

We’re here to share that knowledge. We’ve found that we can help companies get started in SEM and begin determining what approach is right for them, and it doesn’t cost a thing. Then, when they need the help of skilled professionals to implement a well-crafted campaign, well, they’ll often call us.

What have we got for you today? A quick clarification of terms, and a thought-provoking article that elucidates one of the most fundamental questions a company must answer as it assesses potential Search Engine Marketing approaches.

So, let’s clarify the difference between SEM – Search Engine Marketing, which we’ve been discussing, and SEO, which refers to Search Engine Optimization (given their similarity, the two terms are often, and understandably confused).

SEO, again according to Wikipedia, “is the process of improving the visibility of a web site or a web page in search engines via the ‘natural’ or un-paid (‘organic’ or ‘algorithmic’) search results.” This is in contrast to PPC, or “Pay-Per-Click,” which is paid advertisements on SERPS (and other websites).

In other words, SEO is the type of SEM which attempts to improve a company’s visibility in non-paid listings, and PPC is the type of SEM which relies on paid listings.

Which raises the question: Which should I use?

Here’s a good start towards answering that question, using a criteria that was well-known to marketers long before the Internet – ROI.

The author argues – persuasively – that companies are not investing nearly enough on SEO, given that 92% of clicks are from organic results, not PPC.

And given that many companies already have well-established websites with tremendous SEO potential, modest investments in optimizing those sites would both generate substantial ROI and enhance the ROI from ongoing or upcoming PPC efforts as well.

Think about it. We’ll be back next time with some startup SEO/SEM techniques that can be implemented by local businesses. At virtually no cost.