SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing and comprises all marketing activities, the purpose of which is to make a company or organization more visible in the search engine results pages (SER Ps). SEO, on the other hand, stands for Search Engine Optimization and includes all marketing activities that aim to improve the position of a website or web page in the organic search results. Whether a website ranks high or low in organic search results also depends on a number of factors traditionally referred to as “ranking factors”.
What is the difference between SEO, SEA, and SEM?
What is SEM? SEO, SEA, and SEM are three acronyms used in digital marketing. These three acronyms are explained below. Let's start with SEM. SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing and comprises all marketing activities whose purpose is to make a company or organization more visible in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
SEM is divided into two branches: SEA (Search Engine Advertising) and SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Sometimes the term “SEM” is used as a synonym for “SEA”, neglecting SEO. In our view, there is no reason to exclude SEO from SEM. While it's true that SEA and SEO work differently, their purpose is basically the same: To make a company or an organization more visible in the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) and to lure Internet users to the website of an organization or a company.
What is the difference between SEO and SEA?
SEA stands for Search Engine Advertising and deals with paid ads showing on SERPs. In the case of Google, paid ads are displayed at the top and bottom of the SERPs, using the term "ad" to distinguish it from the other search results: Paid ads are usually displayed one after the other, although they can be displayed side by side, as in the example below: Paid ads in SERPs are placed via an advertising platform. In the case of Google, the ads are created using the Google Ads platform.
The process of creating a paid ad is pretty straightforward. First, the advertiser selects a keyword. This keyword triggers the ad if it matches or is closely related to the search query entered by the user. The advertiser then creates ad text and selects a landing page. Ultimately, the advertiser chooses a budget for their ads and a bid that represents the maximum amount of money they are willing to pay for a click. The advertiser only pays when a user clicks an ad, not when the ad is just shown to a user. The process of serving paid ads to a user is just as simple. Every time a user enters a search query, an auction takes place in which a decision is made which paid ad comes first, which second, and so on.
The position of paid ads is determined by a number of factors, including their bid and the quality of the ad text and landing page. SEO, on the other hand, stands for Search Engine Optimization and includes all marketing activities that aim to improve the position of a website or Improve the website in organic search results. Organic search results are results that are displayed in SERPS, for example in Google search results, and are not marked as “ad”. Here's an example from Google: Whether a website ranks high or low in organic search results also depends on a number of factors, which are traditionally referred to as “ranking factors”.
Although search engines do not publicly disclose the factors used by their algorithms to rank web pages, some are now known, including the quality and usefulness of the content. The more valuable the content is to internet users, the higher the chances of appearing in the first organic search positions. Speed of the website. A fast website is more likely to appear in the first organic search positions than a slow website. Website architecture and usability. Websites with a simple architecture that are easy to navigate and use are likely to perform better than websites that are easy to navigate and use.
whose architecture and usability are not user-friendly. Keywords relevance. Websites whose content contains keywords that internet users are searching for have a higher chance of getting to the top than websites that completely ignore terms entered by users in search engines. Internet users search for have a higher chance of getting to the top than websites that completely ignore terms entered by users in search engines. Backlinks.
A website linked to other reputable websites is more likely to get a better organic position than a website that does not have any links that point to itself. Unlike paid ads, website owners don't pay search engines when a user clicks on an organic search result. Hence, it is common to associate SEO or online search results with free online traffic. Internet users search for have a higher chance of getting to the top than websites that completely ignore terms entered by users in search engines.
Backlinks. A website linked to other reputable websites is more likely to get a better organic position than a website that does not have any links that point to itself. Unlike paid ads, website owners don't pay search engines when a user clicks on an organic search result. Hence, it is common to associate SEO or online search results with free online traffic. A website linked to other reputable websites is more likely to get a better organic position than a website that does not have any links that point to itself.
Unlike paid ads, website owners don't pay search engines when a user clicks on an organic search result. Hence, it is common to associate SEO or online search results with free online traffic. A website linked to other reputable websites is more likely to get a better organic position than a website that does not have any links that point to itself. Unlike paid ads, website owners don't pay search engines when a user clicks on an organic search result. Hence, it is common to associate SEO or online search results with free online traffic.