Definition of Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

 

Search Engine Marketing is a digital marketing product that allows businesses to place advertising messages on the first page of a search engine results page. SEM ads are generally text ads that appear similar to the organic or natural search results. A business can use these sponsored ads to target keywords or phrases that consumers are searching for within the search engine.

 

Search Engine Marketing can also be called

 

Search Engine Marketing, SEM, Pay-Per-Click, PPC, Google Adwords, Adwords, Bing Ads, Paid Search, and those ads on Google

 

A Few Search Engines that sell Search Engine Marketing

 

Google, Bing, Yahoo, Duck Duck Go, Quora, Dogpile, Vimeo, Yadex, Boardreader, Ask.com, etc.

 

Why Buy Search Engine Marketing Ads

 

SEM allows businesses to be present if/when consumers use search engines to find the information on the internet. SEM is one of the only advertising/marketing mediums where marketers can see and target consumer behavior. Approximately 90 percent of users utilize search engines to find information about products and or topics of interest.

 

How Search Engine Marketing Works

 

Search engine ads publish on the top, bottom, and (sometimes) sides of a search engine results page. When a consumer clicks on a sponsored text ad, within a search engine page, the business is charged a small fee. The fee a is called a cost per click or CPC. The cost-per-click is determined by external demands for the keyword or phrase sponsored by the advertiser. Some search engines, such as Google, use additional factors – user behavior – to influence cost per click or CPC.

 

Once you start a SEM campaign, it is important to understand what factors indicate a successful campaign. There are many bad companies out there looking to grab your budget. Here are a nine reporting elements that should be in every search engine marketing (PPC) report.

 

Want more information regarding the Search Engine Marketing programs from the NOLA Media Group? Click here to read more.