How is SEO different from SEM? How to use various internet marketing tools to get noticed on the web?
How to use website promotion tools? Best effectively. In this post, we’ll look at two tools and the differences between them. Contrary to popular opinion, SEO and SEM, because we are talking about them, are not identical concepts. Yes, both are used in internet marketing, but the scope of their activities is different. It is worth adding that SEM is a broader concept, including, inter alia, SEO activities.
SEM – Search Engine Marketing
The name SEM (Seaerch Engine Marketing – search engine marketing) refers to all activities aimed at increasing the website’s visibility and placing it in higher positions in the search results . It is about both paid campaigns and organic positioning for selected keywords and phrases entered into the search engine by users. SEM consists of SEO and PPC. In short, it can be said that SEO activities are aimed at adapting the website to the current requirements of search engines. PPC is Pay Per Click – payment per click . There are different types of ads within paid campaigns, such as banners, text ads, product ads, and video ads. SEM results are highlighted in the search results, so the recipient is aware that it is a form of advertising.
SEO – Search Engine Optimization
SEO is the optimization of websites for search engines – in such a way that the website, for given keywords and key phrases, get the highest positions in natural search results . Sometimes it is necessary to tweak some parameters in order for the website to run faster. SEO activities include on-page content optimization and website code and structure optimization. Text that complies with SEO principles must first and foremost be unique. It is also important to properly place and saturate the text with keywords, internal linking, as well as placing in-text headers and highlighting the content, e.g. by bold text fragments or by using bullets. SEO activities include use of meta tags (title, description), optimization of images on the website or adapting the website to be viewed on various devices.
SEM and SEO – differences
Although SEO is part of SEM, the term SEM has been accepted to refer to paid campaigns. What are the most important differences between these tools? SEM gives immediate results – you only need to prepare and launch a paid advertising campaign. SEO activities tend to be more complicated, and the effects may only be visible after some time, sometimes even several months. When it comes to durability of the effects, in the case of SEO they are long-term, and in the case of SEM, they are visible as long as the campaign lasts . SEM ads are targeted at selected target groups, while the natural results are visible to all users. Additionally, organic results tend to have a higher CTR or click-through rate. Finally, it is worth mentioning one thing – it cannot be clearly decided which tool is better. It all depends on what our goal is.