Search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) are both strategies used to increase website traffic from search engines, but they achieve this goal differently.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing a website to improve its ranking and visibility on search engines. It involves various techniques such as keyword research, on-page optimization, link building, and content creation to ensure that the website appears at the top of search results for relevant queries. SEO is a long-term strategy that requires consistent efforts to yield results.
Search engine marketing (SEM) is a form of online advertising that aims to increase visibility and attract more traffic from search engines through paid advertising. SEM involves bidding on targeted keywords to place ads on search engine results pages (SERPs). Ads may appear at the top, bottom, or sidebar of the search results page. SEM is a paid advertising strategy that provides immediate results but requires constant investment to maintain visibility.
In essence, SEO is a long-term, organic technique to improve a website's ranking in search results while SEM is a short-term, paid advertising technique that provides immediate visibility on search engines.