In other words you have to make it easy for existing customers to find you and for new customers to discover you.

With the world gravitating towards the internet and mobile devices it is a no brainer for smart business to have an online presence.

This leads to the question: How do you market a business online?

Basically, there are two ways to market a business online: Search engine marketing also called pay per click advertising(PPC) and search engine optimization, also referred to as SEO.

Having said this, let me go ahead to explain what both  SEO and SEM means as this will help you understand what form of online marketing is most suitable for your business.

What is SEO:

Webopedia defines SEO as “a methodology of strategies, techniques and tactics used to increase the amount of visitors to a website by obtaining a high-ranking placement in the results page of a search engine (SERP) -- including Google, Bing, Yahoo and others…”

If your search engine optimization is done right, you will show up on the search engines organically without having to bid and pay for keywords. However SEO requires dedication and consistency over time. SEO best practices including keyword research and proper link building have to be adhered to in order to be effective.

Search engine marketing or PPC advertising:

PPCon the other hand is the process of paying for traffic using advertising programs like Google Adwords or Yahoo and others in order to market your business. Your visibility on the web will be proportional to your advertising budget.

PPC advertising usually provides more immediate results than SEO at the beginning.

There’s no right or wrong method to market a business when it comes to both methods, however, the business goal whether it’s short term (seasonal) or long term will help determine the most suitable method for an online marketing strategy.

SEO works for the long term while PPC works for those who want instant feedback and results. However, the smartest businesses combine both SEO and PPC to get amazing conversions.

Wondering where to go from here? Talk to us at RDM. We have both SEO and PPC specialists that can work with you to give your business the boost it needs to grow. We’re eager to help and will be glad to hear from you.

Written by Muyiwa George

This is a feature by RDM.