A common question we get is “what’s the difference between search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM)”? The terms are often used interchangeably, so it can be confusing! We made an infographic of the terms to make it easier to visualize. We have three sizes: lo-fi, hi-fi, and print-ready:
Click to open the Lo-fi version of the infographic in a new window
Lo-fi Version: 210k | High-res Version: 675k | Print-ready Version: 2,410k
SEO and SEM Defined
SEO is the first thing you do and the process occurs entirely on your own website. In contrast, SEM is the last stage and this happens entirely on other websites.
SEO begins with selecting which keywords you want to show up in search results on search engines like Google. Quality content is developed and published on your website with these keywords in the various parts of your page
- Title of your page
- URL
- Meta-tags
- Headings
- Copy/content
SEM occurs after publishing the SEO content and is on 3rd party websites. Whether you pay for links or create your own, the content can be in the form of:
- Guest blogs
- Articles
- Comments
- Press releases
- Twitter Tweets
- Directory listings
- Facebook pages
- Google+ Pages
- Google +1′s
- Google Adwords
- Other search engine text ads
Each of these pieces of SEM content should have links that point back to the SEO developed content on your website.
Creative Content Expert’s Role
We do SEO and SEM all the time, so we can quickly implement professional content that both meets SEO/SEM goals and is easy for end-users to read. It’s not as easy as throwing content onto the world-wide-web. Balancing search engine and end-user needs can be very tricky, but that’s our expertise. We can work with you to develop a plan that meets your budget and accomplishes your goals.