I see most people here talk about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and how they get their or their client's web site to rank well in google, while for the most part what they are doing can be clearly categorized as SEM (Search Engine Marketing). Here are the definitions of both I found at Wikipedia (don’t flame for mentioning this name), Search Engine Marketing: In Internet marketing, search engine marketing, or SEM, is a set of marketing methods to increase the visibility of a website in search engine results pages (SERPs). SEM strategies include: Search engine optimization attempts to improve rankings for relevant keywords in search results by improving a web site's structure, content, and relevant backlink count. Pay per click advertising uses sponsored search engine listings to drive traffic to a web site. The advertiser bids for search terms, and the search engine ranks ads based on a competitive auction as well as other factors. Paid inclusion feeds listings into search engines, typically comparative shopping sites like Nextag. Social media optimization promotes by placing ideas within online communities with the hope that they will spread virally. Video Search Marketing attempts to promote a business by strategically placing short video clips on websites such as YouTube to be picked up search engine spiders or promoted through internal rating systems. Search engine optimization: A subset of search engine marketing, is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. SEO can also target specialized searches such as image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines. As a marketing strategy, SEO considers how search algorithms work and what people search for in order to increase a site's relevancy. SEO efforts may involve a site's coding, presentation, and structure, as well as fixing problems that could prevent search engine indexing programs from fully spidering a site. Other, more noticeable efforts may include adding unique content to a site, and making sure that the content is easily indexed by search engines and also appeals to human visitors. The term SEO can also refer to "search engine optimizers," a term adopted by an industry of consultants who carry out optimization projects on behalf of clients, and by employees who perform SEO services in-house. Search engine optimizers may offer SEO as a stand-alone service or as a part of a broader marketing campaign. Because effective SEO depends upon the source code of a site, SEO tactics may be incorporated into web site development and design. The term "search engine friendly" describes designs, menus, content management systems and shopping carts that are easy to optimize. So why is it people normally like to call their technique as SEO when it really is SEM?
SEO is a byproduct of SEM but a large part of it at that so thats why its classified as SEO SEM is things like PPC and the extras that you mentioned above.
That is very true...they're mis-speaking. They should call it SEM. Not everyone understands the difference, and it's possible that more people are familiar with the term SEO.
SEO should be more specific to optimization of web pages organically to rank well in search engines. SEM should be understood as something broader that covers SEO and other marketing methods that involve search engines such as paid search.
This might be one of the reasons. Exactly, most of the work I have seen people pitch is really SEM not SEO. According to me a good SEO would be a web site design firm which can optimize your website to ensure both search engine bots and users can locate content easily.
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It is a nice article. Thank you for sharing. Search engine marketing is a marketing method to increase the visibility of a website in search engine result pages while search engine optimization is SEM strategy that attempt to improve rankings for relevant keywords in search result by improving website structure, content and relevant backlink.
well let me explain my reviews witout lookking what vikipedia said about it ( whose article is it in wikipedia ? is it an authority? ). Seo ( Search Engine Strategies ) is a large phrase that includes eighter the Som and Other methots inluced every unique techniq inside it to make your web pages more visible by seach engines and higher ur sites rankings. Sem is just one of the techniques you can select from the Seo basis techniques. Actually let me read what wiki said and than l will say my opinion again
The difference in terminology can also be due to where people work. For example, the company I work for has a number of SEO and SEM clients. For ease of communication purposes, we say "SEO" when discussing clients who have signed up for the package to help increase their organic results, and "SEM" for clients who we manage their PPC campaigns for. Oftentimes strict accuracy is lost in favor of ease of communication. What's important is that your message gets across.
SEO is a simpler part, yet a component of SEM. So if I were you, I would choose SEM instead because SEO is not enough
Ok, let's make this real simple. Here's the hierarchy, general to specific: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- MARKETING ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INTERNET MARKETING ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING (SEM) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO) & PAY-PER-CLICK (PPC) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forgive the crude text diagram. Marketing is the mother category, below that is Internet Marketing, which includes Search Engine Marketing (SEM). SEM includes both SEO and Pay-Per-Click (PPC). [Internet Marketing also includes Email Marketing and Social Media Marketing (SMM), among others.]
SEO was the early adopted phrase for all things related to increasing site ranking/exposure, long before SEM and it's PPC or YouTube marketing videos came along. Alot of people still coin the whole process SEO.
SEO is all the onpage stuff done.i.e meta tags, content optimization, link structure, etc.where as SEM is all the off page stuff starting from link building til the end of online marketing i wud say.