SEO and SEM meaning?
Contributor Phil Robinson. Partner, Founder + CE
It’s not uncommon for people to misunderstand SEO and SEM’s meaning. And you can be forgiven if you want to compare SEO and SEM in a showdown…
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) are two terms that are often used interchangeably, but they actually refer to two different things.
SEO – or searching optimation – is the process of optimising a website for Google’s search engine algorithms. This is associated with the goal of earning higher web traffic (visitor) levels and improving the visibility of the site on SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). SEM, on the other hand, is a form of internet marketing that involves the use of paid advertising to earn higher web traffic levels and improve the visibility of a site.
Should SEO and SEM be employed separately?
While SEO and SEM meaning can be often lumped together as the same thing. Often because they both aim to improve the same thing. A website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). However they are in fact two distinct strategies. In saying that they should be used together in order to achieve the best results.
SEO should be used to optimize a website’s on-page elements, such as the title tag, meta description, and header tags, as well as the site’s content. SEM can be used to improve a website’s ranking in SERPs by bidding on relevant keywords and phrases.
When SEO and SEM are used together, they can create a powerful marketing strategy that can help businesses succeed online. SEO can help to attract organic traffic to a site, while SEM can help to drive traffic through paid advertising. By using both SEO and SEM, businesses can have a better chance of two things: 1. Earning higher web traffic and 2. improving their visibility in SERPs.
Where to Start with SEO and SEM
Understand SEO and SEM meaning is really just the start. If you’re still scratching your head about SEO and SEM, don’t worry. We can help! In addition to this blog post, we have a wealth of information about both topics. Plus, we offer free website audits so that you can get an idea of where your site stands and what improvements could be made. Simply fill out the form below and we’ll grade your website right here and right now!
