Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) are linked as they leverage search engines like Google to drive traffic and enhance visibility.
Sometimes the terms are used together to reference a similar set of activities, which can be confusing for those of us who aren’t as familiar with this world.
But while they have the same purposes, there are differences. Marketers need to understand what these are to leverage SEO and SEM in marketing activities and to feed into search intent.
It’s worth mentioning the recent Google API documentation leak which gave marketers a rare glimpse into what factors the search engine really uses to rank content.
In this article, we look at the key differences between SEO and SEM, how to use them successfully to boost the visibility of any product, service, or company and the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) on search marketing.
What’s the difference between SEO and SEM
How does SEO work?
How does SEM work?
How can you use SEO and SEM together?
How much do SEO and SEM cost?
SEO and SEM: future directions
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” Google requires canada phone number lead high-quality SEO results to keep users engaged, all the better to serve paid listings against their future search queries ”
– Clark Boyd, DMI tutor and co-founder of Novela
What’s the difference between SEO and SEM?
So what’s the difference? While SEO optimizes a website to drive organic traffic, SEM uses both organic and paid search such as Pay-Per-Click or programmatic advertising to boost web traffic.
This means that SEM covers organic and paid channels while SEO focuses on organic traffic, making it a subset of SEM.
It’s worth noting that SEO experts are debating the value of paid search due to changes in search behavior and the rise of AI-powered search, such as Google’s AI Overviews (SGE). More on that later…
Now you know the difference, let’s look at SEO and SEM in more detail.
Venn diagram showing overlap between SEO and SEM
How does SEO work?
So what is SEO? SEO involves continuously optimizing a website to rank in organic search engine results pages, known as SERPs.
Search engines like Google or Bing work by ‘crawling’ content to see how effective it will be to attract traffic and provide information. Search engines will assess a website based on many factors (explained below) and rank it.
According to Statcounter Global Stats, Google claims 91% of the global search engine market compared to only 3.74% on Bing and 1.26% on Yahoo. This means that when we talk about search engines the main focus for SEO is on Google, but we still need to remember that others are still in the running (but barely).
You should note that it takes a bit of time for Google to recognize and reward your site – if your site is brand new, it probably won’t get ‘noticed’ for quite a while.
With Statista reporting that Google processes 5.9 million searches every minute there’s a huge opportunity for marketers to use that search intent to drive traffic.
That’s the way you need to think when it comes to SEO – What’s my audience searching for and how can I feed into it
SEO categories
There are four main categories of SEO to consider in your marketing activities – technical SEO, on-page SEO, off-page SEO and local SEO.
Technical SEO – This means looking after the health of your website. It involves improving the architecture bz lists and backend elements of a site to improve its visibility and performance on search engines. Elements to consider are broken links, metadata errors or site architecture.
On-page SEO – This focuses on optimizing the content and elements of a website. Keyword research is crucial here so you tap into what your audience is looking for and create content that provides information or solutions. Elements to consider are page titles, headings, URLs, and internal linking.
Off-page SEO – This is all about how your website is perceived externally. It aims to build external signals and boost the authority of your site so search engines get a signal that it’s trustworthy and authoritative. Digital PR is important here as that includes external link building and press coverage.
Local SEO – It’s often neglected, but local SEO can make or break a small business. The key is to use local keywords or phrases that people would use to find a local business or service. A simple tool is Google Business Profile, a directory that displays business information on local searches and Google Maps.
SEO key features
Google’s algorithm uses 200+ ranking signals so there’s a lot to consider when you’re looking at 41 uztailaren 4ko lelo liluragarriak marketing lehergarrirako ranking content on the search engine.
To narrow it down, let’s look at the key SEO ranking factors you should focus on.
Keyword Optimization – Once you identify the right keywords or phrases (there are some great research keyword tools such as Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to help), it’s important to use them across your website.
