SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) are two similar strategies that businesses use to increase their online visibility and reach potential customers through search engines. While both involve using keywords and other tactics to improve a website’s ranking on search results pages, they differ in how they go about achieving that goal. SEO is focused on improving the organic (unpaid) ranking of a website through techniques such as on-page optimization, content creation, and link building. On the other hand, SEM involves using paid advertising methods, such as PPC (pay-per-click) ads, to increase a website’s visibility on search results pages along with SEO practices.
In short, SEO is a long-term strategy that focuses on organic ranking, while PPC is a more immediate tactic that uses paid advertising to improve visibility, and SEM is a combination of both.