Do you know what I love about marketers? I love how they absolutely can butcher some terms to death. SEO and SEM are two examples. Many beginners use these interchangeably as if they meant the same thing. However, they are not the same. So, in order to clear up some of the confusion, this article is going to first explain the difference between the two and then offer some tips on each. I am sure you will find this informative and hopefully, keep you from talking about one thing when you really mean the other.
Let’s start with SEO, which stands for search engine optimization. This actually refers to the practice of using on and off page tactics to get your site ranked higher on the SERPs. On page tactics would be the use of keywords, anchor text, meta tags and so on, in order to get your site ranked. Off page tactics would be writing articles, getting backlinks, using video and other web 2.0 properties to get your site ranked higher on the SERPs. In a nutshell, that’s SEO.
Okay, so then what exactly is SEM? SEM is using paid marketing in order to get more traffic to your site. This could mean using things like Google Adwords or even Yahoo’s or MSN’s pay per click services. Essentially, you are using paid search engine listings in order to get traffic. It has nothing to do with your actual organic placement in the SERPs. In fact, your site can be on page 100 organically. But if you bid high enough on keywords, you could be listed first in the paid listings. So as you can see, the two work together but one is not dependent on the other.
As for tips, let’s start with SEO first. If you’re on a tight budget, as many beginning marketers are, this is the way you want to go. You can actually get a good ranking without ever having to spend a dime on advertising. By optimizing your site as best as you can, writing articles, submitting press releases, making videos, bookmarking and getting backlinks, you can easily conquer even the toughest niches. If money is tight and time is not a problem, this is the way to go.
However, if time is at a premium and money is no object, then there is no quicker way to get traffic than through SEM. A paid ad that appears at the top of the paid listings can bring you hundreds of visitors a day IF the demand for those keywords is there. As I said, you can be on page 100 organically and it won’t matter. However, IF you are going to go the SEM route, you want to make sure that you get a solid education on pay per click marketing before you tackle this beast. Many marketers have lost their shirts going the SEM route because they didn’t know what they were doing.
There you have it. The difference between SEO and SEM and some tips on using them both. Hopefully, you found this information useful.
To YOUR Success,
Steven Wagenheim
