SEO, (Search Engine Optimization), and SEM, (Search Engine
Marketing) are often presented as interchangeable in the web design world, both
among custom website developers and small business customers alike. Both of
them are important and can serve your website and your business well, but they
are very different. Before investing in
a campaign using either of these techniques, you should have a clear idea of
what both of them are about. What exactly is the difference between SEO and
SEM?
SEO in the broadest sense is the activity of ensuring that a
website can be found in search engines when certain relevant words and phrases
are entered by the user. This is done not only through placing these words in
the written content of the website, but also through relevant tags. Tags on
pages, images, text, and links help search engines to find the website’s
content. Since search engines such as Google cannot “see” images, alt tags are
used to label images with descriptive text, serving as a road sign for the
search engines to find that particular image on that particular page of your
site. Other techniques for successful SEO include internal and external links,
ensuring each page functions correctly, and updating the site’s content
frequently to keep it “fresh”, making the content appear newer to the search
engines. Web developers implement all of these techniques when they create your
website and maintain them over time.
SEM, (Search Engine Marketing), also helps your website get
found in the major search engines. Unlike SEO which is often part of a good
quality web design package, search engine marketing is a paid campaign in
itself. Part of SEM is the practice of paid inclusion, in which the website
owner pays a search engine or directory to add their site to their database
immediately rather than allowing the site to be found by search engine spiders
on its own. This can speed up the process of getting your site found. Another
search engine marketing technique is placing paid advertising on search engine
result pages that lead to your site and you are charged for the number of times
your ad appears whether the user clicks on them or not. Finally, “pay per click” or PPC ads are text
only and the website owner pays the search engine each time the ad is clicked
on. These campaigns need to be monitored for effectiveness and updated
frequently to ensure they don’t become outdated. (For example, if you post an
ad for a Christmas sale, you have to update it by New Years’ day or it will
become irrelevant).
While SEM may seem like a more sure-fire way to get people
to your site, it cannot work without SEO. If people do find your site through
an ad, but if the keyword content is poorly written, page links don’t work, or
tags are not used properly, visitors will leave the site and others who find
out what your site is like won’t visit, either. SEO can work without SEM, but
SEM doesn’t do much good without the proper implementation of search engine
optimization. Beyond Custom Websites is knowledgeable in Search Engine
Optimization and Search Engine Marketing. We can put together a group of
customized techniques that will work for your company, your website, and your
goals. Our team of expert web developers, graphic designers, and content writers
can offer you a complete and powerful online presence. To begin your ongoing
and personalized relationship with us and receive a custom website designed
especially for your business, visit our website and get in touch with us today.