While they may sound (and spell) similar, the difference between SEO and SEM is more than just a letter. Let’s take a look at the differences.
SEO, SEM, you may think what is the difference? With the marketing jargon growing so tremendously, it has been difficult to keep track of what everything means. But when you are pitching an idea to your clients, using terms interchangeably can be quite a bit embarrassing. The most common of these seemingly-interchangeable terms are SEO and SEM. At the back of your mind, you know they mean different things. But what is the real difference? Read on to find out.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a technique to obtain traffic from free and organic search results displayed by search engines, such as Google. The following is a list of activities (classified as on-site and off-site) that are generally employed to bring in SEO traffic:
- [On-site] The correct use meta data including keywords and page title.
- [On-site] The correct use of organic keywords incorporated in the website’s page content.
- [Off-site] Exchanging links by using the Link building method.
- [Off-site] Using content on social media sites such as reddit and tumblr to invite footfall.
But is there a staggering difference between SEO and SEM? Turns out, there isn’t. You see, SEO is one of the components that makes up SEM (Search Engine Marketing). What makes is different from SEO is that it is all paid. Also known in the market as PPC (Pay Per Click) and CPC (Cost Per Click), SEM employs techniques that use money to rope in potential buyers. Some typical SEM activities are listed below:
- Designing Marketing campaigns specifically for the target audience.
- Publishing an advertisement copy that incorporates keywords on social media websites.
To summarize, the real difference between SEO and SEM is that one is organic while the other is paid. And however you employ their techniques, the fact that remains established is: if you wish for online fame, you need both of these techniques in your pocket.
