what is the SEO and SEM Difference

kajal.pillai22 · 11-07-2011, 11:20 AM

Ever wonder what is the difference between Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)? I guess most people who got involved in either one side or both did think about this question before. Both of them are equally important to search engine users and marketers as well as having a number of differences and similarities.

Basically, they require a strong understanding or knowledge of their purposes and functionality. To practice search engine optimization effectively, you simply have to know how the search engines work and all its fundamentals. Search engine marketing, on the other hand is more to paid online advertising and marketing strategies.

They only look complex on the outside, but on the truth side, they are easy to learn. Just use the best of your knowledge into more practice and gain success. They are different by the method used but with one similar purpose, which is to get more traffic to your website or blog. So what actually do SEO and SEM give us?

SEO uses some methods where a website or particular page from a site is optimized to rank well in the search engines result. They can either be optimized on-page or off-page, but both the techniques will give you the organic result or free traffic from other sites or search engines. Visitors will come to your site without needing you to place an advertisement.

On the other hand, SEM marketing techniques are a practice of online advertising. Ads will need to be placed in the right spot with the right keywords, all around this big online network and of course, with a fee. The good thing is that if you’re running a PPC campaign, only real browser clicks will be taken into account and this helps the advertisers to have the right amount of real visitors with the right amount of price.

These days, online marketing need the best of both SEO and SEM practices, especially if you are to build a website that runs an online business. Local professionals can be easily found and hired through the internet using search engines. For example, if you’re living in San Diego, you can search for experts in your local area by keying in "search engine optimization in San Diego" and a number of relevant results will be shown. If you’re not ready to hire, you can choose to learn by yourself and improve your sites’ ranking on your own to draw more visitors.

Shweta · 11-11-2011, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kajal.pillai22

Ever wonder what is the difference between Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)? I guess most people who got involved in either one side or both did think about this question before. Both of them are equally important to search engine users and marketers as well as having a number of differences and similarities.

Basically, they require a strong understanding or knowledge of their purposes and functionality. To practice search engine optimization effectively, you simply have to know how the search engines work and all its fundamentals. Search engine marketing, on the other hand is more to paid online advertising and marketing strategies.

They only look complex on the outside, but on the truth side, they are easy to learn. Just use the best of your knowledge into more practice and gain success. They are different by the method used but with one similar purpose, which is to get more traffic to your website or blog. So what actually do SEO and SEM give us?

SEO uses some methods where a website or particular page from a site is optimized to rank well in the search engines result. They can either be optimized on-page or off-page, but both the techniques will give you the organic result or free traffic from other sites or search engines. Visitors will come to your site without needing you to place an advertisement.

On the other hand, SEM marketing techniques are a practice of online advertising. Ads will need to be placed in the right spot with the right keywords, all around this big online network and of course, with a fee. The good thing is that if you’re running a PPC campaign, only real browser clicks will be taken into account and this helps the advertisers to have the right amount of real visitors with the right amount of price.

These days, online marketing need the best of both SEO and SEM practices, especially if you are to build a website that runs an online business. Local professionals can be easily found and hired through the internet using search engines. For example, if you’re living in San Diego, you can search for experts in your local area by keying in "search engine optimization in San Diego" and a number of relevant results will be shown. If you’re not ready to hire, you can choose to learn by yourself and improve your sites’ ranking on your own to draw more visitors.

Hello,
Really liked your post. People often tend to get confused between SEO AND SEM. And they way you have explained is really good and so easy. I have recently started SEO and for me it was really difficult, but now I try and read and understand the back ground and now I actually understand some stuff.
Thank You.

happygarg · 11-15-2011, 05:31 AM

SEO is a process to improve the Search Engine Result Pages(SERPs) in search engines using your targeted keywords by natural way means use unique content and build quality backlinks for your website. It take some time for improve your ranking but your results stable for long time in effective cost.

SEM is a process t increase the traffic and popular your products, business, brand fast by paid search engines. SEM is the surety to show your website in top results related to your targeted keywords searches. In SEM, you need not to use On-page optimization and not need to build backlinks for your website because you pay to Google for show your website.

marcussmith · 01-06-2012, 04:03 AM

SEO and SEM both are concept of marketing. SEO is used to increase visibility of site and increase traffic on site. SEM is provides the different ways for marketing and also increase traffic on site. SEO is less costly than SEM. SEM is not complete without SEO. SEO is best for search engine and user both.

JodieLemke · 01-07-2012, 07:05 AM

interesting question ......

"Sometimes people use the terms “search engine optimization” (SEO) and “search engine marketing” (SEM) interchangeably. Though they are both marketing techniques, they do have definite differences. SEO is the process of improving a web site’s rankings in search results of search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. These listings are also known as “organic” listings."

alanpoly · 01-10-2012, 10:07 AM

SEO plays a role of uploading and promoting the sites and getting the query solved or SEO is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engine via the natural or unpaid whereas Social media optimization (also known as SMO or social SEO) is the methodization of social media activity with the intent of attracting unique visitors to website content. SMO is one of many online methods of website optimization.

kensomerville · 01-10-2012, 03:59 PM

Great post. You have explained the different term in a way that almost anyone can understand them.

Thanks for sharing.

MailGuy · 01-15-2012, 05:47 AM

SEO = organic ranking in search engines.
SEM = paid ranking in search engines.

That's how I understand it.

fizzer · 04-28-2012, 11:02 PM

SEO techniques are free of cost where as SEM services are paid.