Knowing the Difference Between SEO and SEM
If you’re new to online marketing, you may hear some terms thrown around that you’re not familiar with. Two of the most common are the acronyms SEO and SEM. To gain more traffic for your website, digital marketing companies in San Diego employ both of these techniques. Read on to learn what they mean and how they differ.
What Is Search Engine Optimization?
In short, search engine optimization, commonly called SEO, is the process of using keywords and other data to optimize your website for searches. When your site has been optimized, it is easier for search engines like Google to understand your content, product, and service, and therefore rewarding you with a better position in the search engine results pages. Optimizing your website and using SEO tactics does not cost the business any additional funds.
There are two kinds of SEO to remember: on-site SEO and off-site SEO. On-site SEO is all the stuff you do to your business’s website to make it search-engine friendly. For instance, on-site SEO tactics include using relevant page titles and descriptions, properly formatted URLs, and H1 and H2 tags throughout your content.
Off-site SEO is essentially getting other businesses to validate your website. Some common off-site SEO tactics include guest blogging and, more importantly, getting backlinks. Backlinks are links to your site from another credible site. Credible backlinks help give your page authority and popularity, both of which are important to Google.
What Is Search Engine Marketing?
Unlike SEO, search engine marketing, referred to as SEM, is the process of gaining online visibility through paid efforts. Paid search advertising is essentially where a business can buy advertising space on a search engine like Google. So instead of waiting for months for SEO efforts to work, the company can gain instant visibility through this online marketing strategy. If you are familiar with Google AdWords, you are familiar with search engine marketing. On Google, businesses can buy ad space and then pay Google based on the number of times the ad is clicked on. This is where term pay-per-click came from.
You can learn more about SEO and SEM strategies from the experts at Saba SEO, San Diego’s leading search engine marketing consultants. Call (858) 951-1717 or go online today to get a free quote.