SEO and SEM are two techniques that allow you to improve the traffic of a website and obtain new potential clients, by positioning the content in the top positions of the search engine pages.
Although both techniques have certain similarities, they also have many differences, especially when it comes to applying their techniques. In this article you will understand the difference between both concepts:
What is SEO?
SEO (Search Online Optimization) are those actions that are carried out so that pages and websites appear at the top of the search results pages, organically. That is, paid ads do not appear among the SEO results.
SEO is carried out through a series of actions, some more technical in nature (OffPage SEO) and others organic (OnPage SEO), which work together to obtain more traffic, more visibility and obtain more customers.
The most common SEO techniques are:
-Keyword search.
-Creation of blog content.
-Correct use of metadata.
-Creation of a link building strategy.
-Create profiles in Google Business Profile.
-Use technical SEO techniques to improve Web Core Vitals.
The importance of SEO lies in the fact that, today, almost a third of all searches in search engines in which local businesses appear lead to a purchase within 24 hours.
What is SEM?
SEM (Search Engine Marketing) includes some techniques used by SEO (for example, keyword research) and also a whole series of advertising and paid strategies, the objective of which is to attract traffic from search results pages, although on this occasion, from the payment results section.
SEM uses PPC (Pay Per Click) strategies, a version of digital advertising in which you pay for each click the user makes on the ad. The importance of SEM lies in the fact that paid results appear above organic results, making it easier for users to click on them.
As in SEO, SEM and especially PPC has several common techniques such as:
-Keyword search.
-Create a bidding strategy.
-Quality of the ads (the higher the Quality Score, the less you pay per conversion).
-Content strategy for advertisements.
What are the main differences between SEO and SEM?
As we have already explained to you, SEO and SEM have many characteristics in common. In fact, we could say that in some ways they are the same. To give an example, we could say that it is like compare a car and a vanIn reality, both are part of a large group that would be motor vehicles, although as vehicles, each one has its own characteristics.
Basically, the difference between SEO and SEM lies in the way it works. While SEO requires a constant improvement and optimization of web pages to position themselves in the search engine, the SEM requires the planning and preparation of advertisements that will appear in the search engine.
Another difference is found in the costs. While SEM has a constant cost (as long as you keep the ad activated, you will have to pay) and generates traffic only when it is active, SEO usually has a very high initial cost, which is reduced once the relevant improvements have been made, and the improvement in traffic is much longer lasting. In this way, we can say that although SEO has a high initial cost, long-term It is much cheaper than SEM, since its effects remain.
As for the time it takes for each of them to become evident, the results of SEM are immediate, since they depend on how well the ads work. On the other hand, SEO has much more extensive results and its results can take months to start to be noticed.
