Search engine optimization and search engine
marketing can be a confusing concept to grasp. Is there even a difference
between them?
Both terms are often used interchangeably,
which makes matters even worse. It is important to understand the difference
between the two terms and that they are different.
What is search engine
optimization (SEO)?
SEO is essentially a component of the larger
category, SEM. According to Google’s Knowledge Graph, search engine optimization
is “the process of maximizing the number of visitors to a particular website by
ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search
engine.”
The SEO industry is continually changing due to
the frequent changes made to Google’s algorithm. But, there is one aspect of
SEO that stays constant: SEO is made up of On-Page and Off-Page activities.
What components does
SEO include?
As stated above, SEO is comprised of two
different activities.
·
On-Page
SEO includes:
-Incorporating selective keyword
naturally into title tags, meta descriptions, heading tags, alt text, etc.
-Blog posts and page copy that is
written and optimized with quality
-Clean and formatting page URLS
-Optimized page load speed
-Google authorship incorporated
-Social sharing integration within
your content
And much more!
·
Off-Page
SEO includes:
-Creating a high quality, natural
backlink profile (aka having other high quality/authoritative sites link to
your site naturally)
-Social sharing signals
-Social bookmarking (Stumbleupon,
Reddit)
-List goes on here too!
What is search engine
marketing (SEM)?
According to Wikipedia, “Search engine
marketing is a form of Internet marketing that involved the promotion of
websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results pages (SERPS)
through optimization and advertising.” SEM includes SEO tactics, as well as
several other search marketing tactics.
What components does
SEM include?
Other than search engine optimization, SEM
includes the use of paid search, such as pay per click (PPC) listings and
advertisements. Most of the time, SEM strictly includes PPC campaigns and
activities, but if you use SEO and paid search, that falls under SEM efforts.
What is the main
difference of SEO and SEM?
The main difference between these two terms is
that search engine optimization is simply a component of search engine
marketing. As mentioned above, SEM includes components of paid search, such as
PPC and also SMM (social media marketing).
It is important to note that you should never
use the terms SEO and SEM interchangeably, because although they work hand in
hand, they are not the same term.
References
Rende, N. (2014, June 19). What's
the Difference Between SEO and SEM? [FAQS]. Retrieved from Hubspot:
https://blog.hubspot.com/insiders/seo-sem-faqs
