Some might say that search engine friendliness (SEF) and search engine optimization (SEO) are the same things. After all, a lot of the work that goes into them overlap (e.g., website design and content creation), and their goals are also similar (e.g., better user experience and cleaner organization).

However, there are a couple of differences between the two, and it’ll be useful to know what they are. As a digital marketing agency in Los Angeles, we’ve listed down a few ways they differ from one another.

SEF is Done Once. SEO is Done Forever.

Making a website site-friendly is pretty much a one-and-done type of thing. Once you’re sure a website is easy to navigate, easy to read, and easy to use, you’re pretty much set for life. You won’t have to work on it more unless your code somehow falls apart.

Making a website search engine optimized, however, is an ongoing process. Many articles and websites, and businesses pop up each day and ensure you’re never going to catch a break. There are always more keywords to discover, more content to create, more traffic to expand, more link opportunities to find, and plenty more.

SEF is Beauty. SEO is Brains.

Developers essentially want the site to look pretty and ready for the audience and Google’s crawlers. Their job is to construct the site so that it looks attractive and appealing to the human eye and code the site so that it’s easy for Google’s crawlers to look through.

And while a lot of the tasks SEO experts do overlap with those of the developers, they’re more focused on getting you noticed. They ensure that many of the site’s components increase visibility on search engines. They also make sure the site content keeps the user engaged and interested.

SEF Writes for Itself. SEO Writes for Others.

Site-friendliness means having unique content on every page. This content can be as short or as long as you’d like and exists solely for aesthetic purposes.

On the other hand, search engine optimization creates content that is specially catered to whatever searchers need. It shows up easily on search engines because Google determines that it is a useful answer to a question. Optimization involves not only relevant keywords but also valuable and detailed information about a topic. 

SEF Writes. SEO Publishes.

SEF uses standard titles and description tags to describe whatever is on the page. SEO uses compelling language and relevant keywords to match what the searcher needs and also encourages them to pick their website over all others.

SEF is Tacit. SEO is Explicit.

When it comes to URLs, SEF makes things fairly obvious. You can determine where a link leads without looking at its actual URL by simply reading the page content. It blends in flawlessly with the site so that it’s easier to read, and they’re usually represented by words. Take this for example:

If you’d like to know more about a particular topic, then please click here.

SEO links, on the other hand, lets a user knows exactly where they are on the website by having a detailed URL. Ideally, it should use a navigation path that looks like a breadcrumb trail, sort of like this:

http://www.website.com/category/subcategory/page.html

SEF Hides Duplicate Content. SEO Eliminates It.

In the course of making your website, you’re bound to have duplicate content. SEF hides this by installing plug-ins or tags or other clever strategies that prevent search engines from finding it and flagging the site for duplicate content.

SEO takes it a step further by trying to delete it altogether. It’s a lot better to take off as much duplicate content as you can because there’s a chance your SEF signals could still fail and allow Google to find it. You can’t flag a site for duplicate content if the duplicate content isn’t there to find.

SEF Lives in the Moment. SEO Thinks of the Future.

There are guidelines for site-friendliness that have been established for years. Developers refer to these guides when they’re working on a website, and it’s unlikely that they’re going to change soon.

Search engine optimization, on the other hand, involves constant innovation. Google and Bing, and Yahoo are always coming up with more technologically-advanced algorithms to make things easier for searchers, and SEO experts have to adapt to the changes they bring as they come along. They might even think of things that have yet to happen.

A good example of this is mobile optimization. Brands started optimizing their websites for mobile use because Google announced it was ranking mobile-optimized sites higher on search engines. It’s not a make-it-or-break-it ranking factor yet, but it will undoubtedly be in the future.

Conclusion

Site friendliness and site optimization are two concepts that are closely related but are ultimately different. It’s important to know the differences because they can cost you. You could have a beautifully-crafted website that’s invisible on search engines or a terrible-looking website that has the potential to rank highly.

Instead, think of site-friendliness as a stepping stone to site optimization. Once you’ve established a presentable website with stable web hosting, you can start adding things here and there to get them noticed by search engines.

Of course, if you’d rather have professionals take the lead, we’d be glad to help you out. Drive Traffic Media offers SEO services and other digital marketing services in Los Angeles and can be contacted at info@drivetrafficmedia.com or at (310)341-3939.