Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Marketing: The Definitive Guide

What Is SEO Marketing?

SEO (search engine optimization) marketing is a digital marketing strategy used to improve a website’s visibility on search engines like Google and Bing. Helping you attract more organic (unpaid) traffic to your website and drive more sales. 

It involves creating helpful, people-first content for your target audience. And optimizing it for search engines. 

SEO marketing also involves improving your website’s technical performance so it delivers a great user experience.

The higher your website ranks on search engines for relevant keywords, the more organic traffic it’s likely to receive. Further resulting in increased brand awareness and sales.

SEO vs. PPC Marketing

When someone enters a query into a search engine, they see a search engine results page (SERP). The SERP is usually made up of paid ads and organic (unpaid) results.

SEO marketing can improve your website’s visibility in organic search engine results. Your site can appear higher in SERPs, without having to pay for placement.

With pay-per-click (PPC) marketing, your website can appear in the paid ads section(s) of the SERP. It involves running ads that you pay for each time someone clicks on them. 

While SEO marketing may involve some investment, you can see long-term results with no direct cost. But with PPC, the results stop when you stop funding the campaign.

Both methods can drive traffic to your website, but they operate in different ways.

Here are the main differences between SEO and PPC:

	SEO Marketing	PPC Marketing
Traffic	Takes time to achieve results	Potential for immediate traffic
Visibility	Gradual increase in visibility as rankings improve	Almost instant visibility in SERPs
Sustainability	Potential for long-lasting results	Short-term results that depend on your budget
Control	Less control over rankings, dependent on algorithm changes	Control over ad placement and targeting options
Cost	No direct cost per click or ranking	Costs incurred per click

Further reading: SEO vs. PPC: What the Differences Are & When to Use Each

SEO Marketing vs. SEM

Search engine marketing (SEM) is a digital marketing strategy that leverages both SEO and PPC to improve your website’s visibility in search engines. 

You don’t need to use SEO and PPC simultaneously within an SEM strategy. But integrating both can provide a comprehensive approach that can significantly improve your site’s search engine visibility.

For example, Zapier, a company that offers workflow automation software, creates SEO-friendly content. Which it also advertises to maximize visibility.

The same post also ranks organically in the SERPs:

SEO marketing focuses solely on organic search results.

Here are the main differences between SEO and SEM:

	SEO Marketing	SEM Marketing
Strategies	Focuses on optimizing for organic search results	Combines both SEO for organic results and PPC for paid results
Visibility	Gradual increase in visibility as rankings improve	Boosts visibility quickly with paid ads while also improving organic search rankings
Cost	More cost-effective in the long run as organic search rankings can be long-lasting	Can be more expensive due to the inclusion of PPC
Traffic	Takes time to achieve results	Can generate immediate traffic through PPC while increasing organic traffic with SEO
Control	Less control over rankings, dependent on algorithm changes	Can have more control via PPC, but the SEO element still lacks control over rankings

Further reading: SEO vs. SEM: Differences in Techniques, Costs, & Results

The Benefits of SEO Marketing

SEO marketing can help you:

Attract More Traffic to Your Site

SEO marketing can help your site rank higher for the keywords your target audience searches for. And the higher your site ranks in SERPs, the higher the expected click-through rate (CTR). And the more traffic you can expect to receive.

More people clicking through to your site can lead to more sales for your business.

Increase Brand Awareness

When your site appears higher in search results, it can also put your brand in front of more potential customers. Helping you increase brand awareness.

When users see your site consistently appearing in search results, they begin to associate your brand with authority and trustworthiness. Building a strong brand reputation.

And when people find your content valuable, they’re more likely to share it with their own networks. And further amplify your brand’s reach.

Like this:

Drive More Sales and Revenue

SEO marketing can help you attract more potential customers to your site. And lead to more sales and revenue for your business. 

But whether your website visitors actually make a purchase depends on several factors, including:

• How well optimized your site is
• The amount of value your content provides
• How appealing your offer is
• The user’s intent behind searching for that content

To drive more conversions, target buyer intent keywords. 

These terms indicate a higher likelihood of the searcher being ready to make a transaction. Rather than just seeking information.

For example, the keyword “best influencer marketing tools” has a higher purchase intent than the keyword “what is influencer marketing.” 

Someone searching for “what is influencer marketing” is likely looking to learn more about this marketing method. But someone searching for the best tools is likely ready (or almost ready) to buy one of them.

There are two types of buyer intent keywords:

• Commercial keywords: The user is researching products/services (e.g., “best cast iron skillet”)
• Transactional keywords: The user is ready to make a purchase (e.g., “buy cast iron skillet”)

Use Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool to identify keywords with high-purchase intent.

Start by entering a seed keyword. These are broad terms related to your industry, product, service, or business. 

Or enter your domain for personalized keyword data for your website. Then, click “Search.”

The tool will present a list of related keywords. Along with additional information for each one. Like:

• Volume: The average number of monthly searches for that keyword 
• Search Intent: The reason behind the user’s query
• Keyword Difficulty (KD%): An estimate of how difficult it would be to rank for that keyword, on a scale of 0-100
• Personalized Keyword Difficulty (PKD%): An estimate of how difficult it would be for your domain to rank in the top 10 search results for that keyword

Use filters to identify keywords with high-purchase intent. 

Simply click the “Intent”filter. And apply “Commercial” and/or “Transactional.” Then click “Apply.”

Use the “KD%” filter to find keywords that are “possible” or easier to rank for by setting a custom range of 0-49 (or select your own target difficulty). Then click “Apply.”

If you’ve entered your domain, use the “PKD” filter instead.

Ideally, target keywords with high search volume but low keyword difficulty (or Personal Keyword Difficulty). Then, add these keywords to your content to drive targeted traffic to your pages through SEO marketing.

Types of SEO Marketing

On-Page SEO

On-page SEO involves optimizing your webpages and their content for both users and search engines. Like including your target keywords (which we found in the previous section) in a few key areas of your content:

Title Tag

Your title tag is an HTML element that specifies the title of your webpage. 

It can show up in search results and at the top of a browser’s window or tab. Including your target keyword here is a great way to tell Google and your users what your content is about.

Meta Description

Your meta description offers a brief summary of your webpage, giving users and search engines a preview of the content. It can appear below the title tag in search results.

Including your keywords here won’t influence your rankings. But it can boost your click-through rate by showing readers that your content is relevant to their search query.

H1 Tag

An H1 tag is an HTML element that is often used to display the main headline or primary subject of the webpage.

As with the title tag, it makes sense to include your target keyword here to make it clear to Google and users what your content is about.

Alt Text

Alt text describes the content of an image, aiding search engines in interpreting visual information.

Alt text also helps visually impaired people understand what the image shows. And it can appear if the image fails to load.

Along with optimizing each of these elements, on-page SEO also involves:

• Writing unique and helpful content 
• Using headings and subheadings to structure your webpages
• Making your URL slugs SEO-friendly
• Adding useful internal and external links
• Naturally incorporating target keywords throughout the content

Use Semrush’s On Page SEO Checker to enhance your on-page SEO efforts. 

This tool evaluates your pages and offers tailored suggestions to improve your on-page SEO. 

Just enter your website’s domain and click “Get ideas.”

The tool will ask you to configure your project. This includes selecting your target location and adding URLs of webpages you want to optimize. Along with setting target keywords. 

Once you’ve configured your project, you’ll be taken to the “Overview” section. 

In the “TOP pages to optimize” section, click on the “# ideas” button next to any of the URLs to view recommendations for that specific page.

The content section provides guidance on naturally incorporating your keywords in title tags, H1 tags, meta descriptions, and the body of the page.

In the “Semantic” section, you’ll find related keywords to naturally incorporate into your text for further optimization.

Work through these optimizations to improve your on-page SEO. And to help drive more targeted traffic to your website.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO involves improving your website’s technical performance so it delivers a good user experience. To influence your rankings and conversion rates.

It’s also about making it easy for search engines to find, understand, and index your content.

Here are some key technical SEO elements to focus on:

• HTTPS: Hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) securely transmits data between web browsers and servers. By implementing HTTPS, you help protect your visitors’ data from interception and tampering. 
• Page speed: Page speed is a measure of how quickly the content on your webpage loads. It’s part of Google’s page experience ranking signals and directly impacts the overall user experience. 
• Mobile-friendliness: Mobile-friendly websites function properly and offer a pleasant user experience on mobile devices. Google’s mobile-first indexing approach predominantly uses the mobile versions of sites when ranking pages in search results.

Use Semrush’s Site Audit tool to identify technical SEO issues that may impact your website’s search engine rankings. 

Simply launch the tool, enter your domain, and select “Start Audit” to create a new project.

Choose how many pages you want to audit and select “Website” as your crawl source. 

Configure additional settings if needed. Then, click “Start Site Audit.”

Once the audit is complete, you’ll land on the “Overview” section.

The tool sorts issues into various categories, including:

Crawlability: A detailed analysis of the elements that affect how search engines access your site

Core Web Vitals: A report on how to enhance your website’s loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability

Site Performance: Provides insights into issues affecting your site’s speed

You’ll also find reports for HTTPS, internal linking, and even structured data markup. 

Click “View Details” under these categories to explore further.

For example, when you click the “Internal Linking” category, you’ll find key insights about your website’s internal linking structure along with any issues. Like:

• How many clicks it takes to access each of your pages
• How your internal links are spread throughout your site
• Any broken internal links

You can also search for specific issues from the “Issues” tab. 

For solutions, click on the “Why and how to fix it” link for a concise explanation of the problem and actionable steps to resolve it. 

Work through these issues to improve your site’s technical SEO. Making it easier for search engines to find and understand your content. And to provide a better user experience.

Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO refers to the tactics you implement outside of your website to help it rank better in search results. Two common off-page SEO tactics are:

• Building backlinks
• Sharing your content on social media

It can also include things like PR, local SEO, and other general off-site marketing activities.

Building Backlinks

Search engines like Google view backlinks (links on one site pointing to another) like votes of confidence. When reputable websites link to your content, it can signal to search engines that your content is trustworthy and valuable. 

Getting more high-quality links can help your website rank higher in search results. And drive more potential customers to your website.

Run a link building campaign to build high-quality backlinks to your site. 

Semrush’s Link Building Tool streamlines this process by helping you identify potential link sources, manage your outreach efforts, and monitor the growth of your backlink profile. All in one place.

Simply launch the tool. Enter your domain. And select “Start Link Building.”

Next, enter the keywords you aim to rank for along with your competitors’ domains. Then click “Start Link Building” again.

The tool will generate a list of prospective sites to reach out to. You’ll find them in the “Prospects” tab.

The tool also lets you contact these prospects directly in the tool. Simply move them to the “In Progress” tab by clicking the “To In Progress” next to each prospect.

When you move a prospect to the “In Progress” tab, you’ll also find their contact details.

So you can reach out to them directly from Semrush’s interface.

And monitor the progress of your campaign from the “Status” column.

Further reading: How to Get Backlinks: 10 Strategies That Work

Sharing Your Content on Social Media

Sharing your content on social media can expose it to a wider audience. Potentially driving more traffic to your site and making it easy for your audience to share it with their own networks. Further boosting your reach.

This can also help you get more backlinks to your website. Which can directly influence your rankings, even if your social media activity on its own won’t.

For example, when we released our 2024 Rankings Factors Study, our team shared it on LinkedIn: 

Our promotional efforts helped the study reach a wider audience. But other people in your audience can also share your content with their own social networks. Further boosting your visibility.

Local SEO

Local SEO involves optimizing your website’s local online visibility. So it ranks higher in local search results. This is key for businesses with physical stores.

Some common local SEO tasks include:

Creating & Optimizing Your Google Business Profile

Setting up and optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP) allows you to put your business in front of more customers when they search for local keywords on Google. 

It’s a free tool that lets you manage how your business appears in Google Search results and on Google Maps.

Your business can appear in Google Search results when your local customers search its name on Google:

Or when they search local keywords related to your products/services. For example: “indian restaurant in new york.”

These results can also show up in Google Maps.

To improve the chances of your listing appearing in Google search, optimize it by adding a detailed description, photos, and other relevant information.

Use Semrush’s Listing Management tool to track your listing’s performance, including how many people viewed it and which devices they used. Plus, you can track listings beyond just your Google Business Profile. All in one tool.

To get started, enter your business’s name and select the right one from the list provided.

The tool will then share a report that includes:

• An assessment of your online presence
• Listings to fix
• Average star rating
• Total number of reviews across your listings

The tool will also pinpoint directory listings with specific errors, such as incorrect phone numbers or addresses.

With a paid subscription, you can automatically distribute your business information to multiple directories. 

First, click the “Continue setup” button.

Then enter or confirm your details. Like your city, brand name, and address. When you’re ready, click “Distribute business info.”

Then head over to the “Insights of GBP” tab to review your Google Business Profile listing performance:

Optimizing Your Site for Local Keywords 

Optimizing your website for local keywords is another great way of putting your business in front of local customers. 

For example, Filmkraft, a New York based video marketing agency, shows up for the local keyword “video marketing agency new york.” 

Similarly, increase the chances of your business appearing in local searches by naturally incorporating local keywords into your content. 

For example, if you run a dental clinic in Chicago, use phrases like “best cosmetic dentist in Chicago.”

Like this:

Use Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool to discover relevant local keywords for your business. 

Simply enter a seed keyword and select your target location. Then click “Search.”

The tool will then reveal a list of relevant keywords to target. 

To further narrow down your search for more specific locations, click on individual keywords you want to target.

When you click on a keyword inside the Keyword Magic Tool, you’ll go to Keyword Overview tool. To see detailed information about that specific keyword.

Click the “Select location” drop-down to add more specific location targeting.

The tool will then show local keyword data for your selected location. To help you understand which keywords are most relevant to your target audience.

Create Location Pages

Create dedicated pages on your website for each of your business locations. Include specific details like the address, phone number, hours of operation, and a map. To make it easier for potential customers to find the right location for them.

Like this:

However, it’s important to do this properly to avoid being seen as spammy. And each page must be unique, rather than just copies of each other with the location names changed.

To create effective location pages:

• Include specific details for each location you target: Like the address, phone number, opening hours, and a map
• Write unique content about each location: Highlight what makes your presence in that location special and any unique services you offer
• Add testimonials from local customers: Gather and include testimonials from customers specific to each location to add authenticity
• Use location-specific keywords naturally: Incorporate keywords related to the location within the content

Collect & Manage Online Reviews

Google considers both the number and quality of your Google reviews when ranking local search results.

Use Semrush’s Review Management tool to easily monitor and respond to Google reviews. You can respond to reviews on other listing sites, too. Without leaving the tool.

Once you’ve set up Listing Management, head over to the “Review Management” tab.

Read and reply to reviews directly in the tool. Just enter your comment in the provided space and click the “Reply” button.

Build Your SEO Marketing Strategy

An SEO marketing strategy requires careful planning. And it’s an ongoing process. 

You’ll need to adapt to changes in your industry, Google updates, and tweaks to your own business’s processes.

Use Semrush’s wide range of SEO tools to plan, execute, and manage different aspects of your SEO efforts with ease. From keyword research to local optimization.

Start forming your SEO marketing strategy today by signing up for a free trial (no credit card required).