SEO or SEM?

Most of the time, people get confused with the difference between Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing. While these two are closely related, they do not refer to the same online marketing technique.

Search engine optimization or SEO refers to improving websites' organic ranking in the search engine results page or SERP. From the definition itself, it involves more natural ways. Often little or no money is necessary but pure hard work is needed to climb up in the SERP.

Search Engine Marketing or SEM, on the other hand, involves paid ads placements, bidding to get good positions in Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing, Microsoft Ad Center and other search engines. This also includes paying money to a third party site to put your ads or banners in their websites.

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