SEO vs SEM: What Is It And Why Is It Important to Know?

by Justin Harrison | 12th October 2009

by Justin Harrison

The abbreviations SEO and SEM are often used in similar or even identical contexts. If you're not familiar with the whole search engine marketing scene it can be tough to find out if there's any difference between the two at all. But as with other kinds of 'insider' terminology, appearances are deceptive.

Search Engine Optimization is what is known as SEO, while SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing. When referring to SEO, the webmaster is doing things to a webpage to make the page search engine friendly. By contrast, if the webmaster is doing things to a webpage so that its URL is optimized to get high ranks within search engines, this is SEM at work.

It?s important to know the difference between the two terms; make sure you ask for all information if your unsure before going and spending money on a SEO or SEM package. For example, a company offers you a package, if you don?t ask and get all the information, you might be buying into a package that merely is the company submitting your website URL to a few search engines, something you can easily do yourself.

Information that would be good to gain would be what they plan on doing to increase traffic to your website. So they are submitting your URL to search engines? Which ones? Have them give you a list of those search engines. What about the use of keywords? Ask about keyword optimization of the website. Ask about META and ALT tags.

Whether it's called SEO or SEM, the precise names don't matter so much as the services offered and particular actions companies will take. Since SEM is so broad, it can range to anything from a comprehensive and detailed package of multiple services to a mere bare bones effort not worth buying. You need to find companies that know what they're doing and have developed a history for good business practices and treating customers fairly. With a little effort put into researching your options, you can be sure to get the best online marketing for your money.

About the Author:
Justin Harrison is an internationally recognised Internet Marketing expert who provides world class SEO Services to website owners. For more information visit: http://www.seorankings.co.za


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