SEO and SEM: What are they and what are their main differences?

SEO vs SEM: many debate whether one is better than the other, but the truth is that neither is superior; rather, they are complementary to achieve similar goals. SEO and SEM can be powerful digital tools that can help you enhance your digital marketing strategy. Why do we say this? To begin with, we need to define these two concepts that are so widely discussed and used in digital marketing.

SEO or “search engine optimization”

Optimizing your website so that it can be easily read by search engines. This is the quick definition, but SEO goes much further than just optimizing a webpage. There are three fundamental pillars for effective SEO: content, technical aspects, and relevance and/or authority.

Organic positioning continues to grow in importance for all companies that wish to have presence and relevance for their audience on the internet. Thousands of brands consistently and carefully work on this aspect of their strategy.

SEM or “search engine marketing” as an ally

Search engine marketing or SEM is more oriented towards the commercial aspect of your strategy. Why? It involves the use of paid ads to promote your products and services on search engines like Google. In fact, Google Ads is the platform where “the magic” happens, and you can create campaigns to give your brand great reach.

Google's platform for advertisers is immense; there is so much you can do. You can place ads on other websites, in Gmail, mobile apps, and even on YouTube. Without a doubt, it is the perfect place to advertise your company and have a quick impact on your growth.

The most important difference

Now you know that SEO does not have a direct cost per visit, as SEM does; where you pay to show ads to your audience. But don’t take it lightly, each has its own ways of working, and one delivers short-term results (SEM), while SEO results are long-term.

Together, they are great tools for achieving results in the digital world. You don’t have to treat them as opposites, but rather as a single way to grow and position your website on the largest search engine on the planet, Google.

Keywords

We can say that in SEO, the selection of keywords is somewhat limited. Why? The professional in charge of content and planning must choose a specific number of words to start working on in the first months of the strategy. The limitation lies in the ability to produce content and the importance of this for the business's website.

Now, in the case of SEM, it is a bit different. Advertising works like a bidding system, and you can appear for as many keywords as you want to receive clicks to your website (and that you can afford). After this, you need to start optimizing and removing words that do not generate qualified traffic for purchases or interest in your brand. But initially, you have no limits in choosing your first keywords.

The costs of SEO and SEM

Defining an SEO strategy with a long-term outlook has significant costs for brands. To achieve this goal, it is important to have one or several professionals, or even a specialized team, to obtain tangible results. The person or agency responsible for this task must have knowledge in technical SEO optimization and also in defining a winning content strategy.

In the case of SEM, there are also some monetary factors to consider. An agency or professional handling this must have expertise in managing advertising campaigns within Google Ads. The platforms for advertisers are becoming increasingly complex; you need a well-defined strategy and also a budget to pay for the campaigns that are launched.

How long does it take to see results?

Organic positioning (SEO) is almost always a medium to long-term game. Why? Google wants to ensure that your website is serious about optimization within its search engine, which is why once you start, you must always continue optimizing your site. The top positions are earned with dedication, strategy, and a lot of analysis. Remember, it is not a sprint but rather a marathon.

With SEM, things change a bit. Why is that? When you pay to appear for certain keywords, you do so almost instantly. For example, your agency just ran a campaign where you appear for the keyword “bicycle,” what happens is that you surpass all positions and now you are in the first position of the search engine (as long as you pay). You receive a lot of traffic from people interested in buying a bicycle during the time that campaign is active.

But… Are there results?

In SEO, there is no guarantee that you will appear in the first position for all the keywords worked on. It is like that, but that does not mean you should not optimize to always improve. As mentioned above, SEO is a race of endurance. Therefore, you must always work on optimization to achieve good results in the medium and long term.

There is something very curious, and that is that in SEM there are also no guaranteed results. To achieve your objectives, it is not just about paying Google to show your products or services. You must delegate to a person or professional agency that has experience in digital campaigns. They already have a path traveled and can foresee the results for your business.

Which should you choose? SEO vs SEM

You have reached the end, and that means you know something important: neither is better than the other. Both SEO and SEM are allies in reaching your commercial and online positioning goals.

This graph is very important because it gives you a clear overview of the growth of organic positioning efforts and paid advertising on Google, in the long term. SEO grows over time, while SEM grows significantly at first and then declines over time. Can you imagine how powerful it is to combine both in a digital strategy? The results are much more satisfying, and the growth is sustained over time.