What is the Difference between SEO And SEM??

SEM (Search Engine marketing) falls under the umbrella of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), SEO and SEM are really two sides of the same coin, but they consist of very different actions and relate to different aspects of marketing. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is focused on optimising a website or page in order to get organic traffic from search results. Where as, the goal of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is to get traffic and visibility from both organic and paid search.

So short story:

Google’s search results are divided into two main categories: the paid search results and the organic search results.

The goal to a successful SEO plan is your website ranking highly through organic search results.

Where as you can also choose to land your business in the paid area of Google’s Search Engine, through PPC (Pay-Per-Click).

So those are the two differences. Next SEM comes in, SEM (Search Engine Marketing) includes BOTH SEO and PPC.

SEO is influenced by On-Page SEO, Off-Page SEO, Technical SEO and User Interaction Signals.

SEM is influenced by Bidding, Quality Score and Ad Copy.

We will explore these influences over our next few blog posts delving into each topic.

How long do results take to appear?

The biggest difference between these two methods of marketing is; speed.

SEO takes time to attract organic results with no guarantees for quick results, in fact agencies that promise first page Google SEO results are completely missing the mark. Targeting effective long tail keywords and implementing SEO best practices, means you can definitely see results within a few months.

Whereas SEM helps businesses pretty much see results instantly, depending on how effective your keywords and biddings are.