The truth is this - most people rely on search engines on a daily basis to get their answers and Google serves up two types of search results: paid or organic, more commonly known as
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and
Search Engine Marketing (SEM).
Even after so many years of relying on Google, many people don't know the difference between SEO and SEM or simply have a misconception of both. They are quite similar in tactics but the approach is very different. The main aim is of course to increase visibility in search results but they go about achieving it with different methods.
If you aim to be a serious digital marketer, then you need to have a solid grasp of the differences and their importance in your marketing strategy.
Many a time you will hear both terms being used by digital marketers and most laymen often get it wrong thinking they are essentially the same thing.
In short the differences are:
SEO: Using organic methods to appear in search results.
SEM: Using paid methods to appear in search results.
The main difference between SEO vs. SEM is that SEO is an organic strategy and SEM is a paid strategy.
What causes the confusion in most cases is in Search Marketing, you'll need to use both SEO and SEM in tandem to gain the significant results.
The concepts of search marketing have changed, like most items in the search industry. Some marketers may consider SEM as a concept that involves both paid and organic strategies. Yet we suggest splitting the words into certain distinct categories to make the marketing strategy transparent.
What is SEO?
SEO ( Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of optimizing content that can be discovered via the organic results of a search engine.
Google and other search engines are analyzing hundreds of variables to determine which pages to rate for query. No one knows what all these factors are, but the most important ones are divided roughly into three main areas:
On-page SEO - is the method of optimizing individual web pages.
Off-page SEO -is something done to boost the rankings outside of a website.
Technical SEO - includes making technological improvements to help the search engines more effectively crawl, index, and rate content.What is PPC?
PPC (Pay Per Click) is a form of advertising where companies pay for clicks on the website from popular platforms such as search engines.
What is SEM?
SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is a broad concept that covers both SEO and PPC. SEM, or marketing of search engines, is also called the search marketing component that uses PAID strategies to gain exposure in search pages. A paid SEM plan includes all the tasks involved in setting up and optimizing advertising and setting up a budget that pays for ad placement.
Google Ads is the most widely used search provider for that strategy. Brands perform keyword analysis using this strategy, and create strategies that identify the best keywords for their business, products , or services. While searching for certain keywords, users can see the personalized advertisements at the top or bottom of search result pages. Every time a consumer clicks on the ad, the mark is paid.
So, what's the similarity between SEO & SEM?
SEM and SEO are unique search marketing elements. Yet when you compare SEM vs. SEO, you'll find that they all have common similarities and distinguishing variations.
Both help in improving your search results as well as driving more traffic online. You will still need to know your audience to optimise on them as you use keyword reserach to identify the popular search terms. You will need to target specific keywords and optimise as well as test to get the best results for both SEO and SEM.
Now, what are the differences between SEO & SEM?
In the greater scheme of things, you will need to use both SEO & SEM for your marketing strategy as they complement each other. In simpler terms, SEO is a long term strategy whereas SEM is short term tactic you can employ.