What is SEO?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of optimising the content and structure of a website so it ranks higher in the organic (unpaid) search results of search engines like Google. The goal of SEO is to increase the website’s visibility and attract more organic traffic to it. SEO often requires technical and content optimisation of the website, the use of keywords and backlinks.
What is SEA?
SEA (Search Engine Advertising), also known as PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising, is the process of placing ads in search engines like Google and Bing to drive more traffic to a website. Unlike SEO, SEA is a paid form of online advertising, and the advertiser only pays when a user clicks on the ad. SEA often requires setting up an ad account, researching keywords, writing ad copy and bidding on keywords for the ads.
In short, the main difference between SEO and SEA is that SEO focuses on optimising the website to generate more organic traffic, while SEA focuses on paying for ads to drive more traffic to the website.
Key takeaways
- SEO optimises your website for free, organic search results
- SEA is paid advertising, you pay per click on your ad
- SEO needs technical and content optimisation plus backlinks
- SEA needs an ad account, keyword research and a bidding strategy
- SEO builds lasting traffic, SEA brings in more traffic straight away
