How Search Engine Marketing is different from Search Engine Optimization

Recently, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a phrase that has come into the mainstream. Increasingly, 'Search Engine Optimization has ceased to cover all aspects of the very nature of search engine promotion. While search engine marketing involves click costs, search engine optimization works through free traffic. This differentiating factor has been the basis of many a generated misunderstanding.

One of the prevalent mistake assumptions being the belief that SEO is a more efficient tool to achieve high Return of Investment than SEM. Yet another such myth is what has been termed the 'landing page' yarn.

In Search Engine Marketing, the owner gets to decide where the visitor's land. Search Engine Optimization on the other hand employs an search engine which decides the landing page for the visitors based upon their queries. This important distinction is what makes Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing different.

No searcher spends more than a few seconds assessing the landing page. More often than not, a searcher lacks the patience to browse through axilliary pages and simply hits the back button. In a matter of clicks they will be on your competition's landing page.


That precisely is the need to optimize your landing page keeping in mind what the searcher is looking for. This would ensure that the visitor to the site stays on as he has been assured of it being the ideal destination of his search. Every searcher ultimately wants to land on a relevant page and it is up to you to make the landing page as relevant as possible. It is the hands of a professional Search Engine Marketing firm, which when at play would optimize the landing page. A search spider would achieve far from desired results in such a scenario.

It is only when the searcher is satisfied that the purpose of either SEO or of SEM is achieved. When compared to the average rates of a Search Engine Optimization firm, the cost expense initially of a Search Engine Marketing firm is mot definitely on the heavier side. This is because Search Engine Marketing involves management and pay per click costs as well. Search Engine Optimization only charges for the management prices . However, investing in a professional Search Engine Marketing firms ensures more relevancy of landing page and therefore more returns.

Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing are two sides of the coin. At the end of the day, Search Engine Optimization can definitely get visitors to your page by giving you a brand image, better ranks and numerous other benefits. However, it is Search Engine Marketing that makes the visitors to your site stick. It is the conversion that makes all the difference.