Search Engine Optimization or Search Engine Marketing

seo-semClients often ask me what the difference is between SEO (earch engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing).

Search engine optimization (SEO) can be best described as programing methods and marketing strategies used to ensure that a site is accessible to and will provide an improved result by providing a higher page ranking in an organic search.

The goal of successful SEO is to obtain a high-ranking placement in the search results page of a search engine (e.g. Google, Bing, Yahoo) using a combination of keywords, relevant content, linking, social media integration and more. Users often will not click past the first page of search results, so achieving first page (top 10) positioning is essential for directing more traffic toward your site.

Search engine marketing (SEM) on the other hand is a Paid Search result. It can be very cost effective if done correctly and very expensive if not. The best results occur when your site pages and ad copy are well written and are relevant.

There are over 1 billion websites currently operating, which translates into billions of webpages being indexed by search engines. Today it is important to implement both strategies due to the volume of information on the web.

Contact us if you are interested in discussing a your Digital Marketing Campaign.