SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is like making your restaurant more attractive to passersby. You paint the windows with mouthwatering pictures, put out a tempting menu, and keep the place clean and inviting. This way, people are more likely to notice your restaurant and decide to come in.

SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is like running ads to tell people about your restaurant. You might put up flyers in the neighborhood, run an ad on a local radio station, or pay to appear at the top of a search engine result when people look for "restaurants near me." This way, you're actively reaching out to potential customers.

In short:

SEO is free (or very low cost) and focuses on organic traffic. You're making your website more discoverable by search engines naturally.
SEM involves paid advertising to get your website seen at the top of search results. You're actively promoting your website to potential visitors.
Both SEO and SEM can be helpful for getting more website traffic, but they work in different ways.