Search engine marketing

What it means

SEM, search engine marketing, covers paid search advertising and, in the broader sense, SEO as well. The paid part, often called PPC, brings traffic as soon as a campaign starts, while SEO builds long-term organic visibility without paying per click.

In paid search, the advertiser chooses the keywords that should trigger the ad and pays per click based on an auction, the cost per click. The ad's position on the results page depends on both the bid and the quality of the ad and landing page.

Search has the advantage of reaching people at the moment they are actively looking for a solution. Unlike social media advertising, which targets interests, SEM answers a specific query, which is why such campaigns tend to have a higher conversion rate.

How it works in practice

Paid search and SEO complement each other. Ads help with new products, seasonal promotions or competitive queries where reaching the first page organically takes time. Campaign data in turn show which keywords convert, which informs SEO.

Success depends on a relevant landing page. An ad promising a specific service should lead to the page about that service, not the homepage. A poor landing page raises the cost per click and lowers conversions.

Campaigns should be measured by cost of customer acquisition and return, not by clicks. For an accounting firm, an expensive click can pay off if it brings in a long-term client on an annual contract.

What to watch out for

Paid search stops bringing visitors the moment the budget stops. A company that relies solely on PPC and neglects SEO is entirely dependent on its ad budget and on rising auction prices.

Poorly configured campaigns can quickly burn the budget on irrelevant queries. Regularly reviewing search terms and negative keywords is essential to avoid paying for clicks from people looking for something else entirely.