What is the difference between SEM and SEO?

Technically, SEM, or Search Engine Marketing is an expansive term describing any and all efforts to use the three major search engines – Google, Yahoo and Bing to their fullest potential to promote and market a website to consumers searching for its particular services or products.

SEM includes SEO, or Search Engine Optimization – a series of tactics designed to make sure that your website can achieve the highest ranking possible from the three major search engines: Google, Yahoo and Bing. They focus on the technical aspects of your website, the meta descriptions and data, page titles,  as well as the actual page content.

An analogy we sometimes use is that SEO is like the physical construction of your business: the structure itself must be up to code,  the look and feel (walls, floors, furniture, displays, etc) are high quality and attractive to your customers, and you carry the products and services that your customers seek.