Digital Marketing vs. SEO – Which is Better for You?

So you’ve decided to take your business’s marketing to the next level – you’re going to invest in a better online marketing plan. With so many options out there, you might be wondering which one is best for you. Is it better to go the digital marketing route which encompasses practically all of the online marketing, or do you go the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) route and focus on ensuring your businesses website is found within the first few options on Google (or any other search engine) when someone types in keywords that are relevant to your business?

The Differences Between Digital Marketing and SEO

Typically when we think of online marketing, we think of advertising a product using the internet in some way. This includes various online platforms and SEO. While, yes, SEO technically is a form of online marketing, and the two tend to link to one another, however, there are distinct differences between them.

Digital advertising includes anything that would be posted on a social media channel (Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, etc.) including pictures and videos, emails, and content marketing such as blogs. While SEO is about tweaking your website’s content so it performs optimally in search engines – and paying for your website to be featured as an ad in the Google search returns doesn’t count. 

Digital Marketing encompasses the majority of the online world when it comes to advertising. However, that doesn’t mean your company should go all-in without both the proper knowledge and an internal/external assessment. Fifteen years ago, if you asked someone about digital advertising they would probably say that email marketing was the be-all and end-all of the digital world. However, that is no longer the case. While email is still a very effective tool to use, social media is quickly gaining ground. With dozens of social media platforms out there, online marketing doesn’t have to solely be left to getting in your client’s inboxes. It now includes posting pictures on Instagram, video ads on Youtube, and Tweets on Twitter. It is more about engaging with your desired audience in order to bring them into your business.

Before choosing your strategy it is important to understand the costs of each. Advertising through social media and other digital platforms have costs that tend to vary depending on the platform you are using and how often you want your ads to run. For example, Instagram charges a fee to share your posts as “paid advertisements”. This fee does not guarantee clicks or notice, but they have been known to increase visibility quite drastically. The key with online advertising is to target specific audiences on specific social media channels so that your ads don’t just get clicked through or scrolled over. 

SEO costs include the hiring of marketing and SEO professionals to run the initial audit, design the initial plan, and revamp your website. Then you would typically pay that person every month to make sure that your website is remaining up-to-date and staying optimized. While this may seem like a big cost, it is definitely worth it as most people don’t go past the first page of search results when it comes to looking online for a product or service.

Regardless of which method you choose, it is important to understand how to measure success. One of the best features of the online world is the ability to measure the return on your investment yourself, and both these strategies have the capabilities to do so. It is important to thoroughly understand the metrics used in this analysis so that you can adjust your strategy accordingly and make the most of your advertising investment.

Dangerous Mind Advertising is not only able to audit your website and provide SEO services, but our team can also teach you how to measure the success of both your SEO and digital marketing campaigns to ensure your business gets to the top. Contact us today to set up an initial consultation and learn about all the marketing services we offer.