Many people ask what the difference between SEO and SEM. Some even go as far as comparing the two with SEO vs SEM with longform articles. The truth is, there is no difference between the two. In fact, search engine optimization falls under the search engine marketing umbrella.
While search engine optimization focuses on ranking a site for search engines through meta keywords SEO, SEO keyword research, and on-page optimization, search engine optimization goes beyond that. There are other ways to market a site in search engines such as social media marketing, influencer marketing, PPC, mobile optimization, and more.
When working with an SEO consultant, he should be able to supplement an answer similar to this. If he is trying hard to distinguish the two as if they were two completely different things, then he may not have enough knowledge about SEO.
No matter how many SEO leads he has, if he believes that SEO and SEM are different from each other, then he may not be the best for your business. In fact, he might only deter your business’ progress and instead leave a negative SEO impact.
You want an SEO consultant with an extensive know-how of the industry, its terms, and best practices. With the industry always changing every month (Google Algorithm updates anyone?), it’s important that your SEO consultant is up to date with the new and old terminologies.
If not, he may need to undergo training before he can perform an SEO campaign for your site.