SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and traditional advertising are two different marketing and promotional media concepts in business. However, the two concepts share striking similarities that have in the most recent times forced industry experts and business analysts to start drawing convincing comparisons. One of the striking similarities shared together by the two media concepts is that both of them bring your prospective actual space buyers or online clients to the doorstep of your shop or your web page. However, in this article, we are going to critically look at the basic features of each of these concepts, so as to be able to identify the differences, if any.
The traditional advertising media concept comprises of both broadcast and print media. Primarily, its basic feature is that it employs some communication processes and methods to inform prospective consumers of an existing products and services available in your shop. It tells your potential clients of what you have in stock at the moment with an appeal for quality, value, efficient service, and directly leads the customer to your doorstep. In tool application, traditional advertising applies conventional means applicable to an industrial period business environment to inform and educate your target audience. Bearing this in mind, a definition of SEM (Search Engine Marketing) will show you some striking similarities.
Search engine marketing (SEM) is a paid online or internet advertising, promotional or marketing concept. It basic feature is that it uses certain special application like paid inclusion, paid placement and contextual advertising, to enable your web page to place itself on top ranking of search engines, in a way that brings your web pages and product information to the immediate attention or doorstep of your prospective clients who are online at that very moment. It employs contextual advertising, paid placement and paid inclusion to hook you with your specific target customers by directly leading them to your web page with clear information on your values, services and products.
However, despite these structural similarities in the two concepts, there are also striking differences that make one preferable to the other.
Traditional advertising has lots of factors that limit it. One of such factors is geographical limitation. Because it is highly limited by geographical factors it can only give you access to limited number of clients. Since traditional advertising is cost intensive, it’s very difficult to return investment per capita with a comfortable margin. Traditional advertising lacks real and proper metrics application to showcase per capita investment return to clients for confidence building. Finally traditional advertising lacks the features for tracking of customer concerns and complaints.
In its own case, SEM (Search Engine Marketing), beyond its shared similarities with traditional advertising, taps into the boundless possibilities and features of the web space to give businesses unlimited access to their global target audience, with real metrics that inform these global target audience about your investment returns, and thereby builds confidence and monitors effectiveness. SEM as an online advertising media uses a special feature called impression data and analytic software to track, measure and analyze client anxiety tips and move in to respond appropriately.
Conclusively then, despite the evident fact that the two advertising concepts share certain features in common, there are ample evidences to show from their differentiating features, that SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is more effective and efficient in the current business environment.