4 replies to this topic

[addyj672]

I want to ask is there any difference between SEO and SEM. We all know SEO is search engine optimization and SEM is search engine marketing. Is there any other difference between them... share you thoughts.... cheers..

[smithzenri]

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and SEM stands for a Search Engine Marketing. SEO is used to get more PR from search engine and increase traffic on site. While SEM is also used to increase traffic on site but from other resources. It is used for marketing of site. It will not consider about where your site will display while user can search for it. SEM is a display your site on sponsors link or display it any blinking image like advertisement but you can also pay for it.

[Mallory]

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 inquiries that ultimately convert to sales.
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.

[Tylor]

HI addyj672
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) : Search engine optimization is focused on the “organic” rankings of a website within a search engine. Organic rankings are rankings that are not paid for and are placed in the center of the search engine webpage. Search engine optimization attempts to optimize the website to increase the ranking of that website within these organic search results.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) : Search engine marketing promotes websites on search engines through paid avenues such as paid placement, paid inclusion and contextual advertising. In most definitions, the main reason that search engine marketing differs from search engine optimization is that search engine marketing focuses on the paid aspects of gaining rank on a search engine.

[CebuMarketing]

For me clients I always explain, that SEO is the engine and SEM is the steering wheel, cause without a clear target, SEO will never work...
So you use SEM to direct your SEO activities to the needed points.
Sorry for my worse english, I hope everybody knows what I meanK
Kind regards from the Philippines