Undisputed, the most mistaken part of Google SEO is that Google Search Engine Marketing is a part of it. In reality, Google SEM is an internet marketing sector but is not Google Search Engine Optimization. SEO and SEM sit alongside each other as internet marketing techniques, however Pay Per Click advertising is SEM, which is not SEO.

Regardless, SEM is the sister to SEO and the closest thing to Search Engine Optimization. The main difference between SEO and SEM is that SEM is paid for per click, whereas, for conversations sake SEO isn’t “paid for” per say. You pay Google Adwords PPC by the click at a set rate. SEO is paid for through an SEO Firm or SEO Company doing SEO services at a monthly rate such as link building, keyword research, and SEO Web Design.

Another big difference between SEO vs SEM is that Search Engine Marketing is dealing with Google Pay Per Click on the right side. Occasionally, you will see a featured ad for the top bidder trickle over to the left side of Google. However, this is very rare and only happens with a high quality score.

Search Engine Marketing is an excellent source of immediate traffic with clearly defined costs per click. The pros are that SEM is much less expensive than SEO and that the results are immediate via new customers. The cons are that SEM costs carry no long-term value and that Google PPC ads represent less than 10% of all the clicks on a search results page.

There is also a very good chance that running a Google Adwords campaign for a fresh website or a website that is campaigning for keywords will positively impact that SEO campaign. This makes sense, especially since Google’s search engine is integrated directly with Adsense and Adwords pretty seamlessly.