The Difference Between SEO and SEM

Writing by Nick Stamoulis on Thursday, September 6, 2007 Comments (3)

Distinctions can be confusing, I know. SEO is the process of optimizing your website with keywords, web page relationships through links, and design so that you rank well in the search engines for the search terms you are targeting. This doesn’t cost anything unless you pay a professional SEO to assist you. Organic rankings are free advertising.

SEM, on the other hand, stands for search engine marketing. That one word exchange optimization into marketing makes a huge difference. When we talk about SEM we are generally referring to sponsored listings, which cost you money. It is an out of pocket advertising expense and the cost generally depends on where you fall in the sponsored line up.

You’ve seen the ads at the top of your search results at the search engines, particularly Google and Yahoo? Those are sponsored ads. Those advertisers are engaging in SEM, or search engine marketing.

When To Use SEM Campaigns Vs. SEO

You might start a search engine marketing campaign when you want to reach a certain target market for your keywords and you find it difficult to move into a respectable SEO position with those keywords. For instance, in a highly competitive market it will be difficult to rank your site well for those keywords. This will especially be true if there are competitors in your market who have been around longer, and the more competitors who have domain age going in their favor the more difficult it will be to succeed at SEO. That’s when you really need SEM.

There is nothing wrong with needing SEM. You’ll likely get fewer visitors to your website with SEM than with SEO, but they will be more targeted visitors. One useful strategy is to use SEM in the early days when it really matters then when you have domain age going in your favor it will be less necessary. If your website is highly optimized and ready for business then as it grows older the chances of it appearing on Page 1 for any important keyword search terms goes up. As it does so your need for SEM goes down.

One final word: Whether you rely on SEO or SEM for traffic to your website, you need to make sure the copy on your website sales sells. After all, traffic is great, but if you aren’t getting conversions then all the traffic in the world doesn’t matter.

Affordable Internet Marketing Services, including SEO, Pay Per Click, Blog Marketing & More! For More Info Call Expert Nick Stamoulis at: 877-295-0620.

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Comments (3) Category: SEO

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3 Comments

Comment by Heather

Made Thursday, 6 of September , 2007 at 2:42 pm

That is great information, Nick. A fine blend of both SEO and SEM can really rev up traffic and a good “close” page will help to assure the sale.

All three of these things are key to running a successful website.

Keep up the good work!

Comment by dave

Made Wednesday, 12 of September , 2007 at 10:10 am

I think tend to think of SEO as more concerned with raw rankings and traffic, where SEM is more about the big picture such as and making
sure you are targeting the right traffic for yourself.

Is testing meta descriptions SEO ? (Maybe?) Measuring the ROI of different headlines? (Maybe not?)

Comment by namecritic

Made Wednesday, 12 of September , 2007 at 10:37 pm

it’s always hard to define them. both of those, sem and seo, include search engines in the names. search engines are not the only way to market a website, product, or service.

so, I guess you actually have seo, sem, and internet marketing, with all 3 having different definitions and each crossing over into the other?