The Difference Between SEM and SEO
I have had many ask me what the difference between Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is, so I thought I might throw a couple of definitions out there.
I am going to start with SEO, as it is a part of SEM. SEO is the act of optimising the html and other content of your website for relevant, targeted key phrases in order to attain higher natural listings than competing websites. SEO provides a cheaper long term solution for increased qualified traffic and generates customer enquiries that ultimately convert to sales. Thanks to ihaveawebsitenowwhat.co.uk for help with a definition.
Now SEM is broader than SEO. It includes SEO and other areas to improve a sites visibility in search engine results pages, like paid listings and paid inclusions.
You can think of SEM as more expensive and quite possibly more targeted, while SEO is free (not counting your time of course) and its purpose is to obtain better free search listings.
Personally, I would start with SEO and then move onto SEM.
June 19th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
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June 24th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Seems SEM is a combination of organic search results (seo) and any traffic that is paid for such as PPC. I like SEO or organic search results the best. The advantage of PPC is you can test the market and determine your target audience and their needs before going through the long process of SEO optimization.