SEM and SEO are both popular phrases in the digital marketing community, yet there’s a huge element of confusion surrounding them. It’s extremely common to see people use the terms interchangeably despite the fact that they relate to two separate things. That may come as a shock to you, but this article will explain all the main differences between SEM and SEO so you understand how both fit into a marketing campaign.
SEM Explained – Search Engine Marketing
SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing, and it’s a key digital marketing approach that leverages paid ads to improve your website’s visibility in search engines. Working with a digital marketing agency, you can set up paid ad campaigns that place your website at the top of the page for your most important searches. Because you’re paying to promote your website, it’ll show above the first organic set of results – which maximizes visibility even more.
The main element of SEM is PPC (pay-per-click) advertising. This is a technique where you “bid” on keywords through an advertising platform and only pay when someone clicks on your ad. It sounds simple, but it’s highly technical and you usually need a PPC expert to help witness true success.
In summary: SEM is all about adopting paid strategies to advertise and promote your website on search engines.
SEO Explained – Search Engine Optimization
Conversely, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it’s all about improving your performance in the organic search results. “Organic” results do not involve paid promotion; they’re the results that Google (or other search engines) determine based on a series of factors.
As a result, SEO is all about targeting these key factors so the search engine likes what it sees and bumps you higher in the standings. SEO is arguably the most complex and confusing part of digital marketing – though you can split it into two main elements:
- On-Page SEO: This looks at technical elements of your website like page speeds, bounce rate, site structure, and so on. Keywords form a big part here to ensure your pages end up in the right search results.
- Off-Page SEO: Usually focuses on link building and brand mentions. It’s more about things you do away from your website that send good signals to search engines.
In summary: SEO focuses on your organic search engine performance and looks at improving your overall website to make it more pleasing for search engines.
What’s Better: SEO or SEM?
Neither is better than the other!
SEO is crucial because it’s more financially sustainable. Once you’ve established a great website that appeals to search engines, it’s much easier to maintain high positions and draw in lots of traffic organically. SEM is vital because it gives you a much-needed exposure boost in competitive searches.
While the two are separate from one another, they serve the same goals: to increase brand visibility and drive targeted traffic to your site. Use them together to see the best results. SEM is a great way to kickstart a digital marketing campaign and raise some initial awareness. Ironically, driving traffic to your site can improve your SEO, which you can build upon with a proper SEO strategy.
In conclusion, SEO and SEM are two different things, yet they work well synergistically to deliver the best digital marketing results.
