SEO Question: How Is SEO Different From SEM?

I keep reading about SEO and also SEM. What is the difference between the two terms?

Deeho Says:

SEO and SEM are quite different.

SEO is an abbreviation for Search Engine Optimization and is the process of fine tuning your website in order to achieve the highest organic search engine rankings possible in Google, Bing & Yahoo.

SEM is an abbreviation for Search Engine Marketing and is a broader term for marketing that includes SEO, PPC Adwords marketing & online banner advertising as well as SMM (Social Media Marketing).

SEM is also often referred to as internet marketing.

It’s common for these terms to be used incorrectly, but in summary, SEO is one element of SEM, as is SMM.

The use of SEM is recommended for most website owners because it provides you a variety of traffic sources, which is always good for longer term stability and continuity.

If you rely wholly on SEO and Google make a change to their algorithms which reduces your rankings and traffic, your bottom line will take a hit, whereas if you have a wider spread of traffic sources, you will be less affected by the whims and vagaries of each search engine.

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Additional Reading:

What is SEO?