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Design, Development, Business

March Update – SEO and SEM

What Is SEO / Search Engine Optimization?

We thought a review of the fundamentals of search engine optimization for aspiring web professionals would be helpful this week.

SEO stands for search engine optimization. It is the process of getting traffic from the free, organic, editorial or natural search results on search engines.

All major search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo have primary search results, where web pages and other content such as videos or local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers most relevant to users. Payment isn’t involved, as it is with paid search ads.

This article has a short video which explains SEO. It also contents links to different SEO Guides and Books and other resources.

What Is SEM?

SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is the process of gaining website traffic by purchasing ads on search engines.

Related SEM Synonyms & Acronyms

Search Engine Marketing was once was used as an umbrella term to encompass both SEO (search engine optimization) and paid search activities. Over time, the industry has adopted the SEM acronym to refer solely to paid search.

At Search Engine Land, they generally use SEM and/or Paid Search to refer to paid listings, with the longer term of search marketing used to encompass both SEO and SEM. Below are some of the most common terms also used to refer to SEM activities:

Paid search ads
Paid search advertising
PPC (pay-per-click)
- PPC (pay-per-call) – some ads, particularly those served to mobile search users, may be charged by the number of clicks that resulted in a direct call from a smartphone.
CPC (cost-per-click)
CPM (cost-per-thousand impressions)
- Most search ads are sold on a CPC / PPC basis, but some advertising options may also be sold on a CPM basis.

Article What Is SEM & Paid Search Marketing? is a good explanation about the SEM.

What’s the Difference Between SEO and SEM?

SEO is increasing the amount of website visitors by getting the site to appear high on results returned by a search engine. SEM is considered internet marketing that increases a site’s visibility through organic search engines results and advertising. SEM includes SEO as well as other search marketing tactics.

Another article has answers to these frequently asked questions about SEO and SEM.

1. What Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

What Components Does SEO Include?
On-Page SEO
Off-Page SEO

2. What Is search Engine Marketing (SEM)?

What Components Does SEM Include?
Which Marketing Tactic Is Better?
What Is the Main Difference Between SEO and SEM?