SEO v. SEM
SEO is the process of getting better visibility in the organic (non-paid) listing on a search engine. SEM is the process of running paid ads on a search engine and its ad networks. Many people think one replaces the other. Not true. They are very different.
Taking Google as an example here's how they differ..
Where do I get seen?
SEO - You’re seen on the Google search engine.
SEM - Google has a massive ad distribution network beyond its search engine. You can run your paid ads on Google and also across this huge network. This network includes other Google properties such as YouTube, Google search partners such as AOL and CNN, and millions of third party websites that have agreed to carry Google ads. SEM also supports geo-targeting. This means you could run your ads in any region you like, such as a city, a zip code, or even a radius around your office.
What gets seen?
SEO - A snippet of text that the Google spiders find on your website. This is often a page Title Tag and a few lines of content.
SEM - Exactly what you want to get seen. You write your ads and you can change them anytime you want. You can run text ads and image ads such as banners.
What does it cost?
SEO - Nothing. Well not really, you’ll need to hire a SEO firm. If you do it yourself it will take considerable time and effort.
SEM - You pay only when someone clicks your ad. You do not pay when your ad is displayed. That’s why SEM is often called PPC (Pay Per Click).
What keywords can I use?
SEO - You need to do SEO for each keyword. If you have many keywords that can be a huge amount of work.
SEM - You can quickly and easily run ad campaigns with thousands of keywords.
Content written and posted by Ken Abbott abbottsystems@gmail.com