One dilemma often arises when thinking about creating an effective digital marketing strategy and that is SEO vs. SEM? Which direction to take will guarantee you results? And more importantly, which one is better for your credit union website? 

We’ve already mentioned that local SEO should be a high priority for credit union websites, but does that mean that other tactics should not be considered? – Of course not. Therefore, one of the best answers to the question of what to choose – SEO vs. SEM is – to choose both! Both can provide certain benefits to your digital marketing strategy, so it would be great to review the pros and cons of each of them and decide how to make the best use of them. Before we dive deeper into the differences between these two strategic techniques, let’s define them first.

 

What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and it represents a set of tactics used to improve the website’s ranking on search engines. This technique is used with the purpose of attracting new customers to your website when they are in a need of the type of services that you offer. In this case – credit union services. In line with this, with SEO you are optimizing your credit union website based on the most commonly searched keywords related to your services or products. And the end goal is to rank on page one of Google (or other search engines) and drive the most qualified traffic to your credit union website. With this in mind, a well-optimized website will generate more leads, it will provide you with increased visibility and of course a higher revenue. 

One key aspect of the SEO strategy is that its goal is to obtain more traffic organically or more precisely in a natural way. In other words, SEO is not a paid strategy even though it requires an investment on your part, but investment in an agency or team of experts to perform the strategy for you or provide guidance.

 

What is SEM?

SEM, on the other hand, or Search Engine Marketing is a technique of using paid strategies to increase the website search visibility. Simply put, SEM represents the ads used for specific keywords intended to obtain clicks that would lead to sales. In most SEM strategies, the businesses would choose targeted keywords that potential customers often use when they look for the type of service that the specific business offer. In this case, paid ads would be used for bottom-funnel keywords, or in other words keywords that people would use when they have a buying intent. Naturally, the main reason for this practice is to invest the most where you have the most potential to get a return on your investment.

In addition, it’s important to point out that the SEM strategies can easily be recognized because when you pay for ads this is shown in the search engine results. It has probably come to your attention the fact that some search results have an ‘ad’ designation (mostly in the first 2 to 3 positions). In this way, users are informed that the specific result is a paid placement. It means that the business has paid to appear in that specific position when you search for their targeted keyword. 

 

SEO vs. SEM: Which one is better for your credit union’s website?

Now that we have made this distinction between SEO and SEM it shouldn’t be hard to explain why you don’t have to choose one over the other. Each strategy has its own purpose and can provide great benefits to your credit union’s website. In fact, a combination of both is proven to be an ideal practice for marketers. All you need to do is determine when and where they play their role. There are many factors that influence a website’s ranking on search engines and here are the most important things to consider when you have doubts about choosing SEO vs SEM. Those are as follows:

  • SEO is cost-effective 
  • SEM is great for instant results
  • SEO takes at least six months to show results
  • SEO requires continuous work and commitment
  • SEM helps with your visibility for competitive search terms
  • SEM requires higher investment and provides results only during active campaigns.

 

Final Thoughts

To sum up, if you are still unclear about what is best for your credit union’s website currently despite understanding the difference between SEO and SEM, other factors would influence your decision. For one, think about your budget – how much are you willing and able to spend, what are your current goals – are you looking for quick results or a long-term ROI, and finally what is your competition investing in. The answers to these questions should provide you with legitimate reasons for choosing SEM or SEO.