To confuse SEO with SEM would be easy—with only a slight difference in their respective acronyms, some people mistakenly use them interchangeably. (Throw in SMM and SMO—social media marketing and social media optimization—and all bets are off.)
For communications and marketing executives, though, the difference should be clear, if not obvious; SEO leverages keywords and content development to boost search results organically, while SEM relies on paid methods, including pay-per-click, to drive traffic. In short, the former is PR-driven, and the latter mirrors more traditional advertising and marketing models.
Despite their differences, both models can be used in conjunction with one another to collectively enhance search strategies and to compensate for the others’ weaknesses.
For example, SEO tends to be regarded more highly because of its organic nature, but Robb Hecht, SVP of imc strategy lab, points out its disadvantages:
• Unpredictable
• Takes time to see results
• Complex and dynamic
• Requires an ongoing investment
• Ill-suited for developing awareness relative to other channels
“You have to be patient about organic search results—it may take a few months,” says Kai Blum, director of search engine marketing at MS&L Digital. “Run pay-per-click ads in the meantime.”
SEM is certainly more immediate and controllable, so it can be used early on in an initiative while SEO efforts are gaining momentum. Plus, insights revealed by SEM metrics can help shape optimization strategies.
“A continual evolution of your search term research is achieved by analysis of all the SEM keywords that drive clicks,” Hecht says. “This can be used to find the terms that drive the highest volume and conversion rates, which can then be applied to your SEO campaign.”