MKTG3506 · Digital Marketing & Social Media
Search: SEM and SEO
There are two ways onto page one of a search result: you buy it (paid) or you earn it (organic). This chapter covers both. Search engine marketing (SEM) is paid placement — the PPC auction, where bid and Quality Score set your position and cost. Search engine optimisation (SEO) is earning unpaid visibility through the three pillars: technical health, on-page relevance and off-page authority (links). The chapter anatomises the SERP and walks the SEO Content Audit method — the exact procedure behind the 30% individual assignment: inventory the content, find keyword and content gaps, then decide keep / improve / prune and justify each call with data.
What this chapter covers
- 013.1 The SERP — the search results battlefield
- 023.2 SEM / PPC — how the auction and Quality Score set position
- 033.3 Match types and the metrics that grade a paid campaign
- 043.4 How engines work, search intent, and the three SEO pillars
- 053.5 The SEO Content Audit method (the 30% assignment)
Running an SEO content audit — the assignment method
- +1Inventory. List every page with its target keyword, traffic, rankings and engagement — you can't audit what you haven't mapped.
- +1Keyword & content gap. Compare the inventory to the keywords the audience actually searches and to competitors' coverage; flag missing and thin topics.
- +1Assess each page on the three pillars: technical health (speed, indexing), on-page relevance (intent match, title/headers), off-page authority (links).
- +1Decide keep / improve / prune per page: keep strong performers, improve near-misses, prune or merge dead weight that dilutes the site.
- +1Justify with data. Every recommendation cites the metric behind it — the marker rewards evidence, not opinion.
- +1Prioritise & plan. Sequence the rewrites by impact-vs-effort and tie them to target keywords.
Key terms
- SEM (search engine marketing)
- Paid search — buying placement on the results page through a PPC auction. Distinct from SEO, which earns placement organically. Position and cost depend on your bid and your Quality Score.
- SEO (search engine optimisation)
- Earning unpaid search visibility by satisfying the three pillars: technical health, on-page relevance and off-page authority (links). It compounds over time and underpins the content audit assignment.
- Quality Score
- A search engine's rating of a paid ad's relevance and landing-page quality. A higher Quality Score buys a better ad position at a lower cost-per-click — relevance is rewarded, not just budget.
- SERP
- The search engine results page — the mix of paid ads, organic listings, and rich features (snippets, maps, images) returned for a query. Understanding its anatomy tells you where reach is won.
- SEO content audit
- A systematic review of a site's pages — inventory, keyword/content-gap analysis, and a keep/improve/prune decision per page justified with data. It is the method behind the 30% individual assignment.
Search: SEM and SEO FAQ
What is the difference between SEM and SEO?
SEM is paid — you bid for placement and pay per click. SEO is organic — you earn placement by satisfying the three pillars. SEM delivers traffic immediately but stops when the budget does; SEO is slower but compounds and is free per click.
What are the three pillars of SEO?
Technical SEO (the site is fast, crawlable and indexable), on-page SEO (content matches search intent, with strong titles and headers), and off-page SEO (authority earned through backlinks). A complete audit checks all three.
What does the SEO content audit assignment expect?
The method: inventory the content, find keyword and content gaps, assess each page on the three pillars, then decide keep / improve / prune and justify every call with a metric. The mark is in the systematic process and the data-backed reasoning, not a gut rewrite.
Exam move
Separate paid (SEM) from organic (SEO) cleanly — a prompt that mentions bidding, Quality Score or PPC wants SEM; one about rankings, keywords or the audit wants SEO. Memorise the three SEO pillars and the five-step audit method, because the same method is your blueprint for the 30% content-audit assignment. Practise justifying a keep/improve/prune decision with a specific metric.
