Time to stop scratching your head! What is SEM and how is it different from SEO? We have an easy summary to help you understand.

Even now people are still wondering what SEM is and how it’s different from SEO. We have created an easy checklist for you to understand them both in more detail.

What is SEM?

SEM is Search Engine Marketing, which is advertising online through search engines, for example, Google Ads. SEM and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) are different. SEO is the process that allows a website to rank on Google’s first page naturally without paying for ads, but instead, modifying the site itself to increase its ranking. 

In the case of SEM, as long as you pay platforms like Google, your advertised website link will stay in the same spot. You can read more information about carrying out SEM here.

The advantage of SEM is that it will guarantee you a spot on Google’s first results page for your website whenever you wish, as it takes only a short period of time for your website to show up when people search for your auctioned keywords. Your website will be among the top three results on Google.

The downside of SEM is that it’s more competitive, especially with popular businesses, which results in higher ad costs. Daily auction prices, particularly for popular keywords, are unpredictable, which can make it hard to control your marketing budget. Another important matter is that when you stop paying for ads they will disappear instantly. 

As an agency with lots of experience in online marketing, we would recommend conducting SEM and SEO simultaneously. Since the two have different advantages, if they can be done in unison, they will improve your digital marketing performance significantly.