Merge SEO & SEM to Build Web Traffic

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) both have a reputation for enhancing online results for websites. It’s true that your dealership’s online strategy would benefit from implementing either of these digital power tools, but they make the biggest impact when they are running simultaneously.

SEO involves adding user-driven, keyword-rich content to your site. This shows search engines like Google that your website contains the kind of information customers are looking for, which results in search engine algorithms placing your site higher in search result listings. These are organic search results — non-paid listings that depend solely on the optimization of your website.

SEM, also known as Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC) and Cost-Per-Click Advertising (CPC), is the process of driving traffic to your website by purchasing ads. These paid ads are placed at the top of search engines and online platforms like Google, Bing, Facebook, and more. SEM ads take up the valuable online real estate above organic listings and can be filtered to specific demographics and behaviors that best match your target audience.

It’s clear that major benefits come with each of these digital marketing services:

• Organic search listings result in a higher amount of clicks – 60% of all directed keyword searches (for example “fifth-wheels for sale in Arizona”) result in a click on an organic search result. People who know exactly what they are searching for are more likely to click on one of these listings.
• Paid search listings result in higher online visibility. The search engine users viewing your ad fit a target audience specified by you, and they see it at the exact moment they are conducting a related search. Whether they choose to click on the paid listing or not, it is visible above the organic listings.

When SEO and SEM campaigns are running simultaneously, you’ll see both higher quality traffic and improved online exposure, resulting in the highest possible conversion rates.

The performance of your dealership’s website on search engines makes a huge impact. Search engines are the major avenue for all website visibility — without them, customers would have a much more difficult time finding businesses online. The better your site performs in search engine results, the more likely it will earn traffic from both new and returning customers.

The entire purpose of having a dealership website is to draw in potential customers, but that can be hard to do without high performance on search engines. Prospects who don’t know about your business – and even past customers who simply don’t have your website memorized – will go to a search engine first, and you don’t want their clicks to go to the local competing dealership that has higher listings. When used together, SEO and SEM can help in not only driving traffic to your site but driving the highest chance of sales conversions as well.