The SEO vs SEM debate comes down to which search marketing strategy works best to help you get leads for your restoration contracting business. Can you generate enough leads organically solely via search engine optimization? Or do you need paid search engine marketing?
Let’s define some terms. SEO is Search Engine Optimization, and refers to managing your content and website to be most relevant to search engines. SEM is Search Engine Marketing, which is investing in advertising on search engine results pages. (SEM is also referred to as PPC, short for ‘Pay-Per-Click’).
In either case, your goal is to get relevant visitors to your website and get them to contact you.
SEO vs SEM: A quick refresher
You’ve probably had a time daily where you had a question and immediately went to Google. Why? Because Google helps users solve problems by serving up the best results to match their search questions. Increasingly in our restoration industry, we are seeing users turn to the internet for information and recommendations.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tactics, and there are many, can improve your website’s position in the organic (unpaid) search results and in the organic local maps results. These SEO tactics require real-time knowledge and manpower to implement given Google is updating their search algorithm on a daily basis.
In Search Engine Marketing (SEM) you pay advertising dollars to appear in search results. Instead of appearing in the organic results, your site appears above them as one of the four ads (or in the four below the ten organic listings):
Google AdWords advertisements are the 800 pound gorilla of SEM since they have most of the search traffic. There are other search engines (e.g. Bing), but in this article, we’ll focus on Google.
SEO for lead generation for restoration contractors: Pros and cons
Pros of using SEO for lead gen in emergency restoration work:
- Organic rankings bring in consistent traffic.
- Website visitors = people experiencing an emergency/loss situation. While SEO is traditionally focused on attracting/creating awareness and then getting those people in to a ‘funnel’ for continued marketing and sales (email marketing, etc.), it is just the opposite here. SEO can be a direct lead generation tool. Think about it – a homeowner has a flood, goes to Google, and then clicks on a link. They are NOT looking to sign up for email lists, download white papers – they are ‘in the buying mode’ RIGHT NOW.
- You can learn SEO tactics if you are willing to put in the elbow grease. All the information you need can be found online for free.
Cons of using SEO for lead gen in emergency restoration work:
- It can take months to rank in the top five organic results for highly competitive keywords in the emergency restoration industry.
- If you aren’t well-versed in SEO tactics or don’t feel like putting in the effort to learn, you might need to invest in hiring outside help from SEO experts.
SEM for lead generation for restoration contractors: Pros and cons
SEM is great for lead generation — if you have the budget to invest in it.
Pros of using SEM for lead gen
- You don’t pay unless someone clicks your ads.
- You can hyper-target with geo-specific and demographic restraints, so you don’t display ads in locations that you won’t benefit from.
Cons of using SEM for lead gen
- For the search ads at the top of each search engine results page (SERP), the restoration contractor industry has highly competitive keywords, so SEM gets costly, very quickly. Some keywords/clicks can cost hundreds of dollars each (just for the ‘click’!).
SEO and SEM are different, and can give varying results. In an ideal world, you can do both, but for many restoration contractors, the high costs of SEM mean that the smaller investment of SEO makes sense. The good news is, that if you stick with SEO, over the long term, it will pay off handsomely, and in most cases, more, than SEM.
Don’t forget Local SEO
Local Search Engine Optimization can get you results within three to six months, and provide a good flow of monthly leads by being in the top three local rank positions.
Lather, rinse, repeat
SEO and SEM tactics are not disappearing any time soon, so why not use them to your advantage? There are a lot of people using search engines to look for emergency restoration services.
Test out the various tactics, and remember that it will take time to see results. Like most things in life, there’s no magic Easy Button to know what will bring in the most leads for your restoration business.
Please feel free to contact us here at More Floods if you’re looking to grow your restoration business!