SEO vs. SEA - find out all about it here

Let's start by clarifying some basics. I'll explain these in the following video. I'll then go into more detail on the individual topics, because I want you to get the most out of my article.

SEO - SEA - SEM

SEM - what search engine marketing is all about

SEM (Search Engine Marketing) has the task of directing traffic (website visitors) from the Google SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) to your website.

You have 2 options for this: SEO and SEA

Both are components of SEM. Search engine marketing is therefore the overarching discipline in which search engine optimisation and search engine advertising are embedded.

What does SEO and SEA mean: explained pictorially

The image shows very good paid and organic SERP snippets.

SEO - SEA - Definition

What is SEO?

Search engine optimisation (SEO for short) refers to all measures taken on (and for) the website (on-page and off-page) in order to position it in the best possible position in the organic search engine results. The aim is always to achieve a position on the first page of the search engines - ideally position 1 - in order to attract searchers in a prominent position. Here you can find a very good description of what SEO is.

Video: What is SEO?

What is SEA

SEA (Search Engine Advertising) refers to all paid elements (adverts) on the search results pages (SERPs or Search Engine Result Pages) that are displayed at the top, i.e. before the organic results and below them. Shop adverts are sometimes also displayed to the right of the search results.

The well-known search engines (Google, Bing, etc.) provide ad formats for this purpose. For Google this is Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords), for Bing it is Bing Ads.

The aim of search engine advertising is to place your own adverts for relevant search terms prominently - above the organic results - on the SERPs (see image no. 1). This allows you to reach exactly those users who are actually interested in your offer.

Video: SEA (Search Engine Advertising) explained in 2 minutes

SEO and SEA in comparison

To compare the two disciplines, I would like to highlight the similarities and differences.

The connection between SEO and SEA - the similarities

The most striking similarity between SEO and SEA is that both are designed to drive traffic from search engines to your own website.

The approach is different and now requires enormous specialised knowledge in each of the two subject areas if you want to use it correctly and efficiently.

Another thing they have in common is keyword research. This is particularly important for Google Ads. But even search engine optimisation cannot do without keywords. Even if it is no longer primarily about keyword optimisation, but about topic optimisation.

Searchers' queries still contain "keywords" that you can optimise your site for.

The difference between SEO and SEA

SEO and SEA differ primarily in that the former is "basically" free and the latter costs money.

But this is only partially true.

Because SEO costs money (initial costs) if you commission an experienced SEO agency. The investment pays off in the long term, as the costs fall drastically or are completely eliminated once the measures start to take effect. The advantage of well-executed search engine optimisation is that the measures often last for years. Regular algorithm updates from Google and attentive SEOs from competitors can lead to fluctuations, but these are usually quickly rectified with small improvements and corrections.

SEA (Google Ads) can also be cost-effective if you do it skilfully. If you commission a good Google Ads agency, the ROI is quickly achieved and the investment is recouped through targeted traffic and possible sales.

Another distinguishing feature is the time frame.

While SEO is aimed at long-term results, you use SEA if you want to achieve quick results. More on this later.

Other factors to consider when choosing an SEM measure are

• the search intent of Google users
• the type of offer of the website operator
• the content of the website

I will also go into this in detail.

When SEO, when SEA - and why

Let's now move on to the topic that interests you the most.

When do I optimise my website for organic search results and when do I invest in Google AdWords campaigns or other ads?

Here are the most important advantages and disadvantages from my point of view.

Advantages of SEA (Google Ads) over SEO

Fast response time:

While SEO measures take time to work, you get immediate results with SEA.

If you pay more, you get more traffic. Immediately.

When you start a campaign, you get visitors to the website. Immediately.

Targeted advertising in regions:

Another advantage of SEA is targeted advertising in your target region. Even if it is possible to optimise the website for a specific region using Local SEO and Google Business Profile, the results are nowhere near as precise as with SEA.

If you don't care that you get a call 10 times a day with an enquiry that you have to turn down because of the distance to your business, then SEO is ok. Personally, I think that's wasted time that could be better spent making money.

It's completely different with SEA.

Do you have a business in Vienna? Only advertise in Vienna.

Do you want to reach potential customers in Berlin? Only advertise in Berlin.

You never miss a call:

Your conversion goal is an enquiry by phone and your business hours are from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm? Only run your Google Ads during this period. It makes no sense to run the adverts if nobody answers the phone. That costs you money unnecessarily.

More offensive landing pages:

With SEO, you often need to design informative, text-heavy web pages to rank well. It's easy for the advertising for your product or service to get lost.

With SEA, you can get straight to the point on your landing page. Prospective customers who click on paid ads are usually already very far along in their customer journey and ready to buy.

Advantages of SEO over SEA

More and constant traffic over a long period of time:

If you pause your Google Ads campaign or stop it completely, website visitors will stop coming from one moment to the next. This is the disadvantage of the fast response time of SEA.

With SEO, on the other hand, you can scale back your measures without losing traffic. As long as your rankings are good, the flow of visitors will not stop.

SEO traffic is free:

While with SEA you constantly have to add money, with SEO you only have to pay the initial costs. Once your website is well positioned in Google, you won't have to pay another cent. This does not include small improvements because the competition is not sleeping and overtakes you in the rankings or because a Google algorithm update sets you back.

Organic search results are clicked more:

According to SISTRIX, only about 6.8 per cent of clicks go to paid Google Ads ads. The majority of people click on organic search results.

Of course, the clicks on Google Ads have a significantly higher conversion rate, but with a website that is well optimised for conversion, you can also do quite good business with the over 90 % SEO clicks.

Let me summarise again:

• With SEA, you can direct the flow of visitors quickly. It takes longer with SEO, but it's long-lasting.
• With SEA, you can target potential customers more precisely. With SEO, you have no influence over who visits your website.
• SEO traffic is usually long-lasting, but a Google algorithm update can quickly set your site back in the rankings. This cannot happen with SEA as long as you pay enough for it and optimise your Google campaigns well.
• SEO directs more traffic to your website, SEA traffic converts better.

Now we know more, but we still don't know what's better for your website.

I'll show you some factors that you can use to make your decision.

The search intent as a parameter

AdWords campaigns make sense for commercial keywords (money keywords), as Google users are more likely to be ready to buy and click on adverts more often.

For information keywords, however, the click rate on adverts is falling dramatically. Google users now know that the adverts at the top of the SERP are for advertising purposes and therefore want to sell (offer little information).

SEO therefore has an advantage with the search intention "information".

The type of offer as a parameter

Do you have seasonal offers or time-limited events that you want to advertise? Then use search engine advertising for them. You won't get far with SEO. By the time the measures take effect, the event will be long over.

SEA for brand building

If you are still in the process of establishing yourself as a brand, it is an advantage to present yourself to users as often as possible. Adverts in the SERPs are particularly predestined for this. The idea behind it: Even if searchers don't click on it, you are present and stick in people's minds.

But don't do without search engine optimisation. If you can be found in the organic results at the same time, you occupy 2 coveted places on the Google "marketplace". You will be recognised twice and at the same time displace another competitor.

The time horizon

As already mentioned, SEO is better suited to establishing yourself in the search results in the long term. Google Ads, on the other hand, is ideal for quick results (traffic).

Google Ads when SEO is hopeless

There are search terms (keywords) that are either hotly contested or already occupied by "giants". Amazon, Zalando, Wikipedia, etc. are such examples, which vary from industry to industry. With organic search engine optimisation, there is hardly any chance of displacing them from the top positions in the organic search results.

In this case, I would try Google Ads. With continuous A/B testing and constant optimisation of the Ads campaign, the chances of being found and clicked on in the search engines are good.

Can good SEO rankings save you from Google Ads advertising?

have you ever asked yourself whether you can save yourself the Google Ads budget through good rankings? Get the answer in our video.

What SEOs can learn from Google Ads

SERP snippet optimisation

The first thing searchers see of you is your SERP snippet.

This should be optimised to the user's needs.

What is a SERP snippet?

Let's take a look at what a SERP snippet is.

It is the "snippet" that Google and the other search engines display when your website is relevant to the search query.

The snippet consists of:

• Title
• URL
• Meta description

How can SEOs benefit from Google Ads campaigns in terms of title and meta description?

If there are AdWords ads for your topic, you can be sure that they have been extensively tested and optimised. This gives search engine optimisers the opportunity to orientate themselves on these ads. Don't copy 1:1, but stealing ideas is allowed and advisable.

Another way to utilise SEA for SEO:

A/B test title and meta description in ads campaign first

SEO measures are often very slow to take effect, as search engine robots only visit and crawl your website at certain time intervals. A/B testing would therefore take a very long time to lead to the desired improvements.

In contrast, you can change your ad campaigns at short intervals and the results of the changes can be recognised very quickly.

Use the display placement report as a source of backlinks

Backlinks are still an important ranking factor. To get relevant backlinks, you can analyse the ad performance in the display network.

In the analysis, you will find valuable data on CTR(click-through rate), conversion rate and number of conversions from specific websites and URLs. You can use this data as a criterion for the relevance of a website. If a page sends relevant traffic to your website, it is relevant to your topic from Google's point of view. It therefore makes sense to endeavour to get a backlink.

How Google Ads campaigns can benefit from SEO

Keyword mapping as a guideline for Google Ads campaigns

Keyword mapping is now a standard part of search engine optimisation.

In a nutshell: What is keyword mapping?

Keyword mapping is about optimising the distribution of relevant keywords within a website structure. You create a subpage on your website for each keyword or topic cluster to be optimised.

You can incorporate this optimised structure into your AdWords campaign and thus direct targeted traffic to the respective subpages (which in turn has a positive impact on SEO).

Use SEO and SEA as a package to dominate the SERPs

As you have already noticed, the question of "SEO or SEA" does not really arise.

Both have their justification in certain areas and their advantages over the other.

Search engine marketing is unbeatable if you take the right steps at the right time and for the right need.

It's all about the perfect mix.

Not every subpage of your website requires the same measures. A mix of SEO and SEA is therefore recommended.

If you use both in a targeted and well-optimised way, you will sooner or later dominate the SERPs for your topic.

SEO and SEA complement each other and bring you more visibility, paid or organic traffic and leads. And that's exactly what successful search engine marketing is all about.

FAQs: Frequently asked questions about SEO vs. SEA

What is SEO and SEA?

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the process of optimising a website for Google searches with the aim of generating more traffic and improving the visibility of the website.

SEA (Search Engine Advertising) is a form of online marketing in which paid adverts are used to increase visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs).

Both are online marketing strategies that fall under SEM (search engine marketing).

Which is better, SEO or SEO?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the best approach for your business depends on your individual needs and goals. In general, however, SEO is often seen as a longer-term strategy that can lead to more sustainable results, while SEA is more immediate.

When is SEA worthwhile?

SEA can be worthwhile when companies see quick results or want to bridge the waiting time until SEO measures take effect. Another scenario in which SEA is worthwhile is when the top organic positions are occupied by strong brands such as Amazon, Wikipedia, Zalando etc. and a ranking on page 1 cannot be achieved.

When is SEO worthwhile?

SEO is worthwhile when companies want to see long-term results, improve the visibility of their website and achieve a higher ranking on search engine pages.