SEO vs SEA: what strategy to boost your visibility?

SEO is the main source of traffic for a website. The proof is that it represents 50% of the traffic! SEO and SEA therefore offer considerable potential for growth. But which one to choose? When should SEO be preferred? When should you opt for SEA? Is it necessary to combine the two? Let's take stock of SEO vs SEA!

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What is SEO?

SEO: definition

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SEO, or “Search Engine Optimization,” consists in optimizing a site for search engines. Concretely, it's about improving your site to Increase its visibility when people are looking for products or services related to your business on Google, Bing, and other search engines.

The more your pages appear at the top of the search results, the more likely you are to capture attention and attract potential and existing customers to your business. It is estimated that during a search on Google, more than 60% of clicks are captured by the first 3 results and more than 30% only by the first!

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SEO: advantages

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👉 Benefit from regular and sustainable traffic

Being well positioned in organic results ensures regular and qualified traffic. Unlike sponsored ad bidding systems, you are not likely to lose your place in a few minutes because of a competitor who outbids your keywords.

In SEO, once a position is acquired and consolidated, Visibility is more sustainable. The results are therefore more stable. However, getting and maintaining good positions requires a Long term investment.

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👉 Embark on a long-term strategy

Setting up an SEO strategy means thinking for the long term. Unlike SEA, the results are not immediate, but they are sustainable. The volatility of SERPs (results pages) is relatively low for organic (non-sponsored) ads.

It's comparable to buying real estate rather than renting: the initial investment is higher, but it pays for itself over time. For those looking for more stability, SEO is the most likely lever.

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👉 Get a good ROI

To say that SEO is inexpensive would be misleading. Unless you're in a niche industry, The costs of a natural referencing strategy can quickly increase. Between the development, the Content writing And the advice, SEO can sometimes seem more expensive than SEA. However, it is A more profitable investment in the long term.

Unlike SEA, where acquisition costs fluctuate, SEO evolves according to your efforts. With the right work and tools, it is possible to obtain good visibility and an excellent return on investment, especially by entrusting your project to a Competent SEO agency.

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👉 Gain authority

Another advantage of natural referencing is that it is a Strategy of Inbound marketing”. In other words, consumers come naturally to you. This approach is a lot Less Aggressive Than Traditional Methods like paid ads, blog banners, or video ads. Improving your SEO is also Improve its brand image and reputation.

By gaining authority, your site enters a virtuous circle: Internet Users Like You, We're Talking About You, and you get organic backlinks. Finally, Google places you on the first page.

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What is SEA?

SEA: definition

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SEA, or “Search Engine Advertising”, refers to advertising actions aimed at Increase Visibility on Search Engines. This involves participating in an auction system to ensure that your site appears at the top of the search results for targeted keywords.

Ad formats are increasingly diversifying to improve the performance of paid campaigns and increase search engine revenue. Google allows you to bid on classic ads with commercial links, as well as on “Product Listing Ads” (Google Shopping) to highlight products.

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SEA: advantages

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👉 Boost traffic immediately

The SEA works mechanically: The More You Invest, the More Traffic Increases. By buying your place in the first search results, you Avoid waiting for robots to analyze and compare your site to those of competitors To position yourself progressively.

Unlike SEO, SEA allows you to Avoid the obstacles associated with the low volatility of organic results. Sponsored links often appear a few minutes after the campaign is launched. In addition, Any correction or improvement of your campaign immediately results in benefits.

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👉 Have quick and measurable results

When setting up your SEA campaign, you define the budget you want to vote to it: the total budget of the campaign and the Maximum cost per lead Or by click. No unpleasant surprises!

Unlike SEO, SEA allows A Very Accurate Measure of Your Return on Investment. The statistics of your campaigns greatly facilitate the calculation of the ROI.

Attention, SEA requires specific skills to maximize ROI, such as optimizing ads, defining landing pages and targeting keywords. To optimize your results, it is better to entrust your Ads strategy to experts.

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👉 Precise targeting of campaigns

If You SEA campaigns Are well configured, Internet users who will click on your sponsored link will be really interested in your product or service. When setting up your Ads campaign, avoid keywords that are too broad or generic that could drain your budget unnecessarily. Instead, choose keywords with high potential.

Remember to devote the time necessary to Define the best target, because Clicks Can Be Expensive. You might as well pay to attract highly qualified and interested users!

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👉 Endless tests: a vector for improvement

With the SEA, You Quickly Know What Works and What Doesn't. In a few days, you get reliable and accurate results that allow you to adjust your bids. This lever is therefore very reassuring for beginners on the web, provided they are advised by an Ads expert.

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SEO vs SEA: what are the differences?

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Relevance of Traffic :

👉 SEO: Qualified traffic. Evaluation, by algorithms, of the relevance of a page in relation to a keyword and search intent.

👉 SEA: Highly qualified traffic. Choice of the landing page for a given keyword (possibility of A/B testing).

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Specificity of targeting:

👉 SEO: Targeting a specific keyword is complex.

👉 SEA: Targeting a specific keyword is easier.

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Short-term results:

👉 SEO: short-term limited performance (no less than 6 months). Bots take time to advance a site on a competitive keyword.

👉 SEA: excellent performances in the very short term. The auction system is almost immediate and is displayed in a few minutes.

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Long-term results:

👉 SEO: very good long-term performances (after 6 months). An acquired position is often very lasting and stable.

👉 SEA: Good long-term performance if the campaigns are still active, which represents significant costs.

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The budget:

👉 SEO: requires precise work properly.

👉 SEA: Management to the nearest cent.

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The ROI:

👉 SEO: Excellent because the positions acquired are acquired over the long term with ethical referencing.

👉 SEA: SEA generates traffic, but it is expensive.

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SEO vs SEA: Which one to use and when?

Make Way for SEO

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👉 Acquire long-term traffic with SEO

The SEO is a long term investment. Once your site ranks well, it continues to receive regular traffic without requiring additional investment. This stability of online visibility contrasts with paid campaigns that require constant expenses.

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👉 Reduce acquisition costs

Although SEO requires an initial investment in content and optimization, it does not involve recurring costs like SEA. This reduces acquisition costs in the long run.

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👉 Gain independence from competitors

SEO makes it possible to develop a strong online presence regardless of the ability to pay for advertising. This helps to stand out from competitors who rely primarily on SEA.

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👉 Reach a wider audience

SEO makes it possible to reach a diverse audience by optimizing for different keywords and topics. This extends the reach of your site beyond the limits of a targeted advertising campaign.

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👉 Strengthen other web marketing strategies

A good SEO strategy makes other digital marketing tactics more effective. For example, well-ranked content can boost the performance of email and social media marketing campaigns.

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Place at SEA

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👉 Follow a Peak in Seasonality

SEA is ideal for seasonal campaigns, such as Christmas promotions or summer sales. You'll get immediate visibility, capturing customer interest during these key periods.

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👉 Get instant results

SEA is perfect for quick visibility needs, such as product launches, allowing you to see results almost immediately after the campaign is set up.

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👉 Control your budget

SEA allows total control over the advertising budget, offering the possibility of regulating expenses and optimizing campaigns for maximum return on investment.

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👉 Test an offer or a landing page

SEA campaigns allow you to test the effectiveness of specific offers or landing pages, with quick feedback to adjust in real time.

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👉 Reach a very specific target

SEA makes it possible to precisely target demographic groups, interests or behaviors, which is crucial for reaching specific audiences with adapted messages.

Find Out How We Generate more than 100 leads per week on highly targeted products for our Taste Club customer.

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SEO vs SEA: why choose when the two are complementary?

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Adopting a hybrid approach by treating SEO and SEA as complementary acquisition channels is a good idea. Why? This allows you to Respond quickly to your traffic and conversion needs while making optimal use of your resources.

Reaching the first page of Google is essential to get traffic, since the first 3 positions combine on average 60% of clicks on search engines.

For new websites, SEA is important for Generate Traffic During the First Few Months, in Waiting for SEO to Bear Fruit, which can take over a year.

For example, a first sale via SEO can take place 6 months after the launch of the site. Nobody can afford to miss out on revenue or annual spikes in activity while waiting for SEO to be effective. Hence the interest of using both SEA and SEO to achieve your goals.

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Clearly, the The advantages of combining SEO and SEA are numerous :

👉 Test your keywords with PPC campaigns and then integrate them into your SEO strategy.

👉 Increase overall traffic by combining clicks on paid and organic links.

👉 Incorporate expensive PPC keywords into your SEO strategy to reduce costs.

👉 Test new pages, content and landing pages with SEA before integrating them into SEO.

👉 Occupy the entire SERP and get more visibility through organic and paid results.

👉 Streamline the buying process by offering personalized sites and acquisition channels.

If you can afford it, a strategy combining SEO and SEA is the most effective way to improve your results in the short and long term.

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Discover the SEA and SEO strategy That We Put In Place For Our Dreem customer And How we generated over 200k qualified leads :

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Each project is unique and requires a specific strategy to achieve the best performances. Do you have questions about the SEO referencing Or on the Managing Your Campaigns Ads? Contact us To discuss your project!