The online marketplace keeps on growing at lightning speed. You will find that almost every industry is online, and any business that wants to thrive has to make it easy to find in a quick search by Google. This makes digital marketing learning an attractive skill set and a great way to gain a competitive edge in the job market. Digital marketing covers a wide range of skills which mainly fall into two categories: search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM). What is SEO? SEO or search engine Optimisation is the search marketing part that uses ORGANIC tactics to gain visibility in SERPs. Brands don’t pay with SEO for placing on SERPs. Instead, they use a variety of tactics that prompt search engines to display their content close to the top of SERPs because the outcome is valuable and legitimate. SEO includes hundreds of tactics that can help a brand increase its search rankings. These SEO techniques are often grouped into three categories. On-page SEO Technical SEO Off-page SEO What is SEM? SEM or search engine marketing is often considered to be the search marketing part that uses PAID tactics to make SERPs visible. A paid SEM strategy encompasses both the activities involved in setting up and optimizing ads and setting up a budget that pays for ad placement. SEM vs. SEO Similarities between them Both help a brand appear in search results Both are designed to drive more traffic to a website Both require knowing your audience Both use keyword research to uncover popular search terms Differences between them SEM search placements include an Ad designation. SEO does not. SEM search results have ad extensions. SEO search results have featured snippets. You pay each time a user clicks on an SEM result. You pay nothing when a user clicks on an SEO result. SEM results show to a select target audience. SEO results do not. The impact of SEM is immediate. SEO takes time. SEM is better for testing than SEO. SEO adds value over time. SEM does not. SEO has a higher click-through rate (CTR) than SEM. Which is better? While there are many differences between SEO and SEM, a strategic approach that includes both is the most effective way to grow a company’s online presence. If a business is online-only, strategic SEO and SEM is the most efficient way to grow its business.