In the early digital marketing era, both Japan and other countries considered SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to be included in SEM (Search Engine Marketing). SEO, PPC (pay-per-click), and other paid advertisements were the techniques of SEM.
However, the term SEO and SEM in English have shifted with the evolution of paid advertisements.
Now, most English websites explain that SEO and SEM are two different things and refer to SEM as paid advertisements.
When you put it into the image, the dynamics look totally different.
・Japanese dynamics
・English dynamics
This difference in language and cultural nuance could cause a big misunderstanding when doing business with Japanese companies and this is one of the reasons why understanding the local point of view is important when you are trying to go into a foreign markets.
