SEO vs. SEM – Learn the Differences Between the Two in One Minute!

Okay, so you are establishing a presence online. In today’s age, the competition has been a lot tougher. Greatly, it is due to the presence of sophisticated tools that make it easy to create websites and build an audience.

Yet, it’s no longer enough that you follow what others are doing. You need to create a strategy and maximize every opportunity that is available at your disposal. To do that, you need to become familiar with different subtleties, especially when optimizing your online presence.

Now, when searching for ways to improve your online reputation, there are two things you need to familiarize yourself with: SEO and SEM. Because while these two might appear similar, there are stark differences that might leave you befuddled.

Why are these two important?

These are your great allies to be ahead of the game. They can either make or break your prominence and your brand’s visibility. Without them, you won’t be able to maximize the opportunities to grow, and you may fall behind the race with other competitors. These are what you need, so you will easily pop out on Google when someone searches for a keyword that is related to your platform.

So here they are.

1. Their names imply quite the opposites

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, while SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing. With SEO, you optimize the content on your website. Its significance lies in the fact that Google needs to know who you are and what you do.

You optimize your web page, so Google’s algorithms can easily figure out that you are what a searcher is looking for. (Not you, per se, but your content.) Optimization is making your content friendly to Google. That means you write based on Google’s set guidelines.

On the other hand, SEM is an active marketing campaign – on Google. Like with any marketing, it’s actively reaching out to your prospects or audience and letting them know you have what they’re looking for.

On SEM, you advertise through Google. (Yes, you have encountered this kind of tactic, you just haven’t known yet what it’s called.) When you search about a specific topic on Google’s search tab, and you see those ads, SEM is on the works there.

2. SEM is paid; SEO is not.

Google will charge you a fee for using its platform to advertise. With SEM, it’s paying the search engine giant to do the legwork for you. The rate may vary. With SEO – while you can hire people who are adept at Google’s algorithms – you can follow certain guidelines and already make it optimized.

Optimizing your website is essentially within your reach without spending a dime on it. Again, you can hire people to do it for you, but it doesn’t require you to pay Google to apply SEO on your own webpage or content.

3. SEO is very important.

Perhaps, it’s fair to highlight the importance of SEO. Without it, you’re doomed to failure if establishing an organic presence online is your goal. Without properly optimizing your website, Google will never acknowledge you. So, every time you make written content, you will always have to keep in mind the basics of SEO both On-page and Technical aspects of it.

You don’t necessarily need to know all this stuff when dealing with SEM. But for both, keywords will matter.

4. Keywords are very important for both SEO and SEM.

While these two are entirely different, there’s one important thing you cannot neglect when dealing with either. Effective use of keywords and rigorous keyword research is imperative.

Keywords are your anchors. They are your magic connecting points between your brand and your prospects. Google’s robots and algorithms use them to evaluate that you are the right fit for what someone is searching for. Your keywords define your relevance. Without appropriate keywords, your content – no matter how well written and informative it is – is entirely useless.

To sum it up, SEO is letting Google get to know you, inviting it to come into your platform. SEM, on the other hand, is knocking on Google’s doors and paying them to let the word out about your brand.