SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is a term that refers to the activities related to making a web page or web site more visible in the Search Engines.  It can include activities like SMM (Social Media Marketing), Article Marketing, Blogging, Blog Commenting, PPC (Pay Per Click) Advertising, Discussion Forum particicpation, as well as many and various activities beyond the scope of a simple definition.  Many people will use SEM and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as if the terms weren’t interchangeable – like they mean the same thing – but they really don’t.

SEO refers more specifically to designing a web site so that it is optimized for the Search Engines to more easily include the site and the pages in their index and to design them in such a way that they are likely to rank higher.  This includes things like using Key Words, making the site in compliant standards, avoiding unfriendly design such as scripts and Flash, and a whole body of techniques.  SEO can also be used to describe the design of the Articles written for SEM, or the wording of the Blog or Forum posts, but is distinct from them as activities.

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