Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) are two essential digital marketing strategies. Both SEO and SEM are centered around getting your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) in hopes of generating more qualified website traffic and conversions.
While SEO and SEM seem similar at face value, there are some notable differences between the two strategies you should be aware of. Understanding what SEO and SEM are individually and differentiating between the two can help you create an effective online marketing strategy for your business.
Understanding Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
At a high level, SEO is focused on strategies and techniques you can apply to your website and web content to improve visibility within organic search results. When people enter a search query into Google or other search engines, SEO aims to get your website ranked among the non-paid results that users see.
SEO Key Components
Some of the core things SEO focuses on include:
- Technical website optimization – How your website is structured and set up from an HTML code and server standpoint impacts your search visibility and ranking. SEO experts improve the technical foundation of websites.
- Content optimization – Creating content that uses relevant keywords and targets ranking for specific search terms is also integral to SEO success.
- Link building – Generating external websites links pointing to your web pages is another SEO tactic for earning authoritativeness signals in Google’s eyes.
- Authority and trust – Factors like your domain authority, website reputation, social media presence and brand awareness impact SEO results as well.
Because SEO is focused on earning organic traffic, results typically take longer to materialize but are more sustainable long-term. An effective SEO strategy also relies in part on the strategies and algorithms search engines like Google use and how they view and index your pages.
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Defining Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
In contrast to SEO, SEM focuses on strategies for generating website visitors and conversions through paid advertising networks and placements. The most common SEM platform is Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords).
With SEM, you have more direct control over results because you are paying to show up for certain keyword searches. SEM allows you to target user intent much more precisely as well. Some key aspects of SEM include:
- PPC advertising – Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is the hallmark of SEM. You bid on ad placements and only pay when searchers click through to your site.
- Keyword targeting – With SEM, you choose specific keywords and keyword phrases to trigger your ads. This level of precision isn’t possible in the same way with purely organic SEO.
- Placement networks – On Google, SEM ads can show up in search results, display networks, YouTube, Gmail and more. You choose where your budget is allocated.
- Full reporting – Robust analytics show SEM campaign expenses and performance in detail so you can calculate return on ad spend (ROAS).
Because it relies on paying for visitor traffic, SEM can produce quicker results but requires ongoing budget investment to sustain performance. It’s also very measurable in terms of conversions generated.
When to Use SEM vs. SEO
Determining if you should focus your efforts and dollars more into SEM or SEO comes down to your business goals, target customer focus and budget bandwidth.
Both SEM and SEO have their merits, which is why many businesses leverage both strategies together as part of a comprehensive digital marketing plan.
SEO vs. SEM: Key Differences Summarized
| Factor | SEO | SEM |
| Expense | No advertising costs, but requires staff/expert resources | Advertising costs apply based on clicks/impressions |
| Results Speed | Gradual over months | Can be almost immediate |
| Result Duration | Sustainable long-term | Requires ongoing budget |
| Effort Monitoring | Challenging to directly quantify the organic impact | Clear analytics and data |
| Location Targeting | Somewhat limited for local SEO | Precisely target geographic areas |
| Ranking Control | Dependent on search engine crawlers and algorithms | Choose what keywords to optimize for |
| Result Type | Earns organic traffic | Drives paid traffic to site |
Understanding the core differences between search engine optimization and search engine marketing is key so you know how to get the most value from each strategy. An integrated approach that uses SEO and SEM together can deliver the best overall results.
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Checking if Your SEO and SEM Efforts Align
If you already have existing SEO and SEM initiatives happening, make sure you’re maximizing potential from both areas. Look for gaps where SEM could complement organic weak points and vice versa. Tracking keyword rankings and traffic sources using analytics helps give insights into improvement opportunities.
You also need to align your SEO and SEM targeting and messaging so that website visitors coming from either channel have a cohesive experience. For example, personalized SEM ad extensions can pick up on previous organic site interactions to increase relevancy.
With the right utilization of SEO and SEM, you can increase qualified website traffic, earn more conversions and ultimately see the greatest ROI from your digital marketing investments.
