Search Engine Marketing

[genie.liam]

What is Search Engine Marketing?
What's the difference between Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization?

[danlefree]

Consider what Wikipedia has to say: SEO (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization) vs SEM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_marketing)

[Canonical]

SEO is a sub-set of SEM.

[marystiffen]

SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing and SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. SEO is a form of SEM and SEM is used for internet marketing for online advertising and product services.

[seoconsult1]

Search Engine Optimization is a method of Internet marketing with the purpose of increasing volume to a specific website utilizing a search engine. Search Engine Optimization thinks about what "normal" users are going to search in search engines and gears it towards the average person. Similar to Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization involves optimizing the HTML and site content to appear higher in a search result. Search Engine Optimization is a subset or type of Search Engine Marketing.

Search Engine Marketing is a method of internet marketing whose purpose is to increase visibility during search engine queries. You can do this by selectively choosing the HTML and website content in order to appear higher in a particular search result. Search Engine Marketing are short texts that appear along the side of a search result. They are referred to as "sponsored links" or "sponsored results."

[spthai]

Search Engine Optimization is a method of Internet marketing with the purpose of increasing volume to a specific website utilizing a search engine. Search Engine Optimization thinks about what "normal" users are going to search in search engines and gears it towards the average person. Similar to Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization involves optimizing the HTML and site content to appear higher in a search result. Search Engine Optimization is a subset or type of Search Engine Marketing.

Search Engine Marketing is a method of internet marketing whose purpose is to increase visibility during search engine queries. You can do this by selectively choosing the HTML and website content in order to appear higher in a particular search result. Search Engine Marketing are short texts that appear along the side of a search result. They are referred to as "sponsored links" or "sponsored results."

That's a very good explanation indeed.

[Canonical]

Actually SEO pertains to methods used to make your URLs rank better in the organic (free) search engine results.

SEM pertains to ANY type of marketing that involves getting traffic from search engines - SEO traffic and paid traffic. Buying Google Adwords ads is an example of SEM but is NOT SEO. Buying display/banner ad placements on the home page of Yahoo! or financial section of Yahoo! is an example of SEM but is NOT SEO.

SEO is a subset of SEM. All SEO is also SEM. All SEM is NOT SEO.

[sheena]

What is Search Engine Marketing?
What's the difference between Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization?
I see SEM as a rather broad term. It's everything that can be done to utilize the technology of search engines with the goal of promoting a web site and increasing its traffic, its "stickiness," and, in the case of sites that promote a business (or are a business), increase profits. SEO, therefore, would be a subset of SEM.

[sweetfranky]

I’m just going to suggest that you stick around and learn SEO over the next few months. Make sure you test everything for yourself and start slow.

[mjtaylor]

search engine marketing is making your site visible on the google and seo is making things better wtih meta tags.

Meta tags have no impact on rankings in Google or MSN ... I am not sure about elsewhere. This is a few years old: Who Still Gives Weight To Meta Keywords Tag? PPC Blog (http://www.ppcblog.co.uk/seo/who-still-gives-weight-to-meta-keywords-tag/).


SEO is so much more than any one tag. At least 200 factors go into Google's ranking algo. :palm:

[risahe]

SEM is better than SEO

[mjtaylor]

SEM is better than SEO

Please substantiate this.

[janestewart]

I have had many ask me what the difference between Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is, so I thought I might throw a couple of definitions out there.
I am going to start with SEO (http://www.pagestrength.com/2009/03/what-is-seo/), as it is a part of SEM. SEO is the act of optimising the HTML and other content of your website for relevant, targeted key phrases in order to attain higher natural listings than competing websites. SEO provides a cheaper long term solution for increased qualified traffic and generates customer inquiries that ultimately convert to sales.
Now SEM is broader than SEO. It includes SEO and other areas to improve a sites visibility in search engine results pages, like paid listings and paid inclusions.
You can think of SEM as more expensive and quite possibly more targeted, while SEO is free (not counting your time of course) and its purpose is to obtain better free search listings.