100g of SEO. Or rather SEO/SEM
Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2024 6:08 am
They are on the lips of all Marketing directors: SEO and SEM are two “hot” levers that every self-respecting web marketing department is evaluating or using. But why do those who are not in the know often get confused and mix them up? Why are SEO and SEM often placed side by side or even with the SLASH SEO/SEM as if they were 2 types of gastronomic specialties from the same region?
cheese-wooden palette
The thing that worries me the most is that those who train young people on these topics confuse SEO and SEM. A few days ago I received a request for teaching from an important university in Milan in collaboration with a large international consulting firm.
Here is what they wrote to me:
“in collaboration with the Customer Innovation Network and with the aim of training new professional figures ready to operate in the world of new media and digital technologies on an international scale, we are launching a program that has a total duration of 6 months, of which 3 are classroom training and 3 are internships at digital companies. During the first 3 months, students will be engaged in practical activities during the week and on Friday and Saturday with face-to-face lessons in English in Milan.
We would be happy to evaluate with you the possibility of entrusting you with the teaching of SEO/SEM in order to enhance your experience and skills on these topics. The contents we have thought of are the following:
SEO and SEM, Search engine optimization and Search Marketing. Best practices to optimize the web and the interfaces for your audience. Understand the SEO process, strategies and tools that improve search engine rankings to drive better-targeted visitors”
SEO and SEM are 2 marketing levers with similar objectives but technically they are very different. They cannot and must not be mixed in a single Russian salad, especially if we have to teach them to young people who will then have to provide consultancy to companies and explain to them how to use them. Writing and saying that a hong kong telegram phone number list course has SEO and SEM in it is like putting the first course, the second course and the dessert in the same single dish. It must not be done.
SEO_SEM
Why are SEO and SEM confused?
Here are some hypotheses I have about the reasons why non-experts confuse SEO and SEM:
SERP Proximity: Both activities help to do the same thing, that is, to dominate the search engine results – see image above, the blue parts are SEM and the red one is SEO.
Linguistic Commonality: Both activities are 2 3-letter acronyms that start with an S and have an E in the middle.
Confusion about the nature of results in Google: AdWords is Google's advertising program that allows you to create very specific ads that appear in search engine results (SEM). Research says that 36% of users do not distinguish between ads and natural results, 26% think that Google does not have advertising
To conclude, SEO and SEM serve different purposes and must be well understood by marketing management (not just by “technicians”) because today they are fundamental for an effective and complete Web Marketing strategy : let's not mix them.
cheese-wooden palette
The thing that worries me the most is that those who train young people on these topics confuse SEO and SEM. A few days ago I received a request for teaching from an important university in Milan in collaboration with a large international consulting firm.
Here is what they wrote to me:
“in collaboration with the Customer Innovation Network and with the aim of training new professional figures ready to operate in the world of new media and digital technologies on an international scale, we are launching a program that has a total duration of 6 months, of which 3 are classroom training and 3 are internships at digital companies. During the first 3 months, students will be engaged in practical activities during the week and on Friday and Saturday with face-to-face lessons in English in Milan.
We would be happy to evaluate with you the possibility of entrusting you with the teaching of SEO/SEM in order to enhance your experience and skills on these topics. The contents we have thought of are the following:
SEO and SEM, Search engine optimization and Search Marketing. Best practices to optimize the web and the interfaces for your audience. Understand the SEO process, strategies and tools that improve search engine rankings to drive better-targeted visitors”
SEO and SEM are 2 marketing levers with similar objectives but technically they are very different. They cannot and must not be mixed in a single Russian salad, especially if we have to teach them to young people who will then have to provide consultancy to companies and explain to them how to use them. Writing and saying that a hong kong telegram phone number list course has SEO and SEM in it is like putting the first course, the second course and the dessert in the same single dish. It must not be done.
SEO_SEM
Why are SEO and SEM confused?
Here are some hypotheses I have about the reasons why non-experts confuse SEO and SEM:
SERP Proximity: Both activities help to do the same thing, that is, to dominate the search engine results – see image above, the blue parts are SEM and the red one is SEO.
Linguistic Commonality: Both activities are 2 3-letter acronyms that start with an S and have an E in the middle.
Confusion about the nature of results in Google: AdWords is Google's advertising program that allows you to create very specific ads that appear in search engine results (SEM). Research says that 36% of users do not distinguish between ads and natural results, 26% think that Google does not have advertising
To conclude, SEO and SEM serve different purposes and must be well understood by marketing management (not just by “technicians”) because today they are fundamental for an effective and complete Web Marketing strategy : let's not mix them.