What Is Search Engine Marketing (SEM)?

Search engine marketing (SEM) is a digital marketing strategy that increases the visibility of websites in search engine results pages (SERPs) using paid advertising. It’s also known as paid search marketing, or pay-per-click (PPC).

SEM typically involves using paid search advertising campaigns (such as Google AdWords) to show ads at the top or bottom of the search engine results pages. These ads are generated by specific keywords related to the products, services, or content being offered. This strategy is a powerful method for reaching new customers, driving traffic to your website, and generating leads. Understanding how search engine marketing work involves recognizing the importance of keywords and their role in creating relevant content and ads to attract target audiences.

You may notice varying definitions of SEM across the web. Some sources establish SEM as paid marketing only, while other sources identify SEM as including both organic and paid marketing strategies. Neither explanation is “wrong,” per se - there are simply multiple definitions, depending on the author or publication. In this resource, we’ll explain the types, benefits, and methods of measuring the success of SEM as it relates to paid advertising.

SEM operates on a pay-per-click (PPC) model, where businesses incur costs only when users click on their ads. The process begins with an ad auction that occurs every time a user inputs a search query into a search engine. Advertisers bid on keywords they deem relevant to their products or services, specifying the maximum amount they are willing to pay per click. The ad auction then evaluates several factors, including the maximum bid and the Quality Score, to determine the placement of ads on the SERP. This dynamic system ensures that ads are displayed in a way that balances advertiser bids with the relevance and quality of the ads.

When you search a keyword on Google (or another search engine), a SERP displays results that consist of both organic results and paid ads. Ads come in many different forms, and the search engines typically indicate which results are paid advertisements.

The type of sponsored campaign you choose to employ should be based on your goals, timeline, and overall digital marketing strategy. A well-defined SEM strategy is crucial for optimizing paid search ads to achieve specific goals, such as keyword selection and budget management.

Google Ads

Search ads are text-based ads that appear at the top or bottom of a SERP when individuals search a keyword.

Display Ads

Display ads are image-based ads that appear on websites and applications. These ads allow you to stay top of mind by reaching your audience while they browse their favorite sites and apps. These sites and apps pull from the Google Display Network (GDN), a group of more than 2 million websites, videos, and apps where your ads can appear.

Shopping Ads

Shopping ads are product listings that appear at the top of SERPs for product-related searches. They also appear in the Google Shopping tab, and typically include an image of the product, the price, and a link to the product page.

Paid Search Marketing Video Ads

Video ads are advertisements that appear before, during, or at the end of videos on YouTube and other websites. They are highly targeted based on user data, and are designed to increase brand awareness (think commercials!) and drive traffic to your site.

Local Service Ads

Local service ads appear at the top of the SERP for local businesses that are relevant to the keyword that the user searches. They typically include the business name, reviews, city, phone number, hours of operation, and more.

App Ads

App ads are designed to promote your app across Google's properties, such as Search, Play, YouTube, Discover, and the Google Display Network. They help your business grow by finding new app users!

Overall, businesses can use a combination of these SEM campaign types to effectively reach their target audience and achieve their advertising goals.

Keyword research is the cornerstone of a successful SEM campaign. It involves identifying the specific keywords that potential customers use when searching for products or services on search engines. By conducting thorough keyword research, businesses can pinpoint the most relevant and high-traffic keywords to target in their SEM campaigns. Additionally, a well-structured Google Ads account is crucial for effective SEM management. This involves organizing ads into thematic groups, allowing for strategic bidding and better ad performance. Ad groups should be categorized by product type, model, or feature to ensure that each ad is highly relevant to the search queries it targets.

Crafting high-quality ad copy is essential for capturing the attention of potential customers. Effective ad copy should be engaging, relevant, and include a clear call-to-action that encourages users to click. However, the user experience doesn’t end with the ad; the landing page is equally important. A seamless transition from ad to landing page enhances user satisfaction and increases the likelihood of conversions. A high-quality landing page should feature a clear and concise headline, a prominent call-to-action, and fast loading times to provide a positive user experience that aligns with the ad’s promise.

Quality Score is a pivotal metric in SEM, influencing both ad placement and cost-efficiency. A higher Quality Score can lead to better ad positions at lower costs, making it a critical factor for advertisers. Ad relevance plays a significant role in determining Quality Score, as it ensures that ads are shown to users searching for pertinent keywords. By focusing on creating high-quality ad copy and optimizing landing pages, businesses can enhance their ad relevance, thereby improving their Quality Score. This, in turn, leads to more effective and cost-efficient SEM campaigns, maximizing the return on investment for paid search efforts.

According to research, approximately 89% of purchases start with a search query, and paid advertisements can occupy a substantial amount of real estate, pushing the organic rankings down the SERP!

Unlike search engine optimization (SEO), which focuses on earning organic traffic through relevant content and best practices, SEM involves paying for visibility.

There are several reasons search engine marketing is important:

• Increase your online visibility: Sponsored content appears at the top and bottom of search engine results pages. This can result in increased brand awareness and exposure, which can lead to more conversions.
• Reach your target audience: SEM allows businesses to target specific keywords that their potential customers are searching. This means that businesses can reach their desired audience more effectively and efficiently. Rather than relying on implicit information about the user, SEM is based on the explicit needs of users.
• Campaigns are manageable: Sponsored ads are structured in a way that businesses only pay when a user clicks on the ad. This makes SEM more controllable, as businesses can analyze the results, and then allocate their budget to the most effective campaigns.
• Results are measurable: Businesses can measure the effectiveness of their campaign efforts based on the data provided by Google. Metrics such as clicks, impressions, conversions, and cost per conversion allows businesses to make data-led decisions.a

There are several tools available for search engine marketing that can help businesses improve their advertising campaigns. These tools can help businesses improve their SEM efforts by providing valuable data and analytics on their website and advertising campaigns.

Here are some popular SEM tools:

• Keyword Explorer - You might be thinking, “Wait, I thought Keyword Explorer was an SEO tool?” However, because both SEO and SEM consider search intent and search demand, conducting keyword research is an imperative first step. Keyword Explorer will allow you to research, identify, group, and organize your target keywords, and help inform the decisions you make about your SEO and SEM strategies.
• Google Trends - This Google tool tracks the search volume of top search queries in Google Search across various regions and languages. Unlike Keyword Explorer, Google Trends can help you understand what's being searched right now, or at a particular time of year.
• Google Ads - This is Google's online advertising platform. Since you'll likely be advertising on Google, this is where you'll place bids on your targeted keywords, so that sponsored ads appear when users search those keywords.

Some common SEM metrics include:

• Impressions: Number of times that your ads are displayed to users
• Clicks: Number of times that users click on your ads
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Percentage of users who clicked on your ads after they were displayed (calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of impressions)
• Cost-Per-Click (CPC): Average cost that you pay for each click on your ads
• Cost-Per-Impression (CPM): Average cost that you pay for each impression of your ads
• Conversion Rate: Percentage of users who completed a desired action on your website, such as making a purchase or filling out a form
• Cost-Per-Conversion (CPC): Average cost that you pay for each conversion on your website

The main difference between SEO and SEM is that SEO efforts result in appearing in the organic search results, and SEM efforts result in appearing in paid results.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a long-term strategy that enhances website visibility without the costs associated with ads, playing a crucial role in a holistic online marketing approach.

Here are some additional ways that SEO and SEM are different:

• Organic vs. paid: SEO is centered around boosting your organic search visibility by optimizing your website. This includes making improvements to your site’s technical health, content, and internal and external links. It’s often referred to as “free” because it doesn’t require a direct payment, it does involve a substantial effort. SEM, on the other hand, uses paid advertising to appear at the top of the SERP, and can often be very expensive, especially for competitive keywords.
• Timeframe: Due to the internal effort required and the length of time it can take to earn authority, SEO is a long-term strategy, and can sometimes take several weeks, months, or years (depending on the competition) to see results. SEM, however, can result in an increase in traffic and leads immediately after the ads are launched.
• SERP real estate: With SEO, your website appears in the organic listings. Depending on the keyword, the first organic listing may be at the top of the page, or it may get pushed down below the paid ads. With SEM, businesses can appear in ads at the top, bottom, or side of the SERP.
• Public perception: Although SEM results (sponsored ads) often appear at the top of the SERP - even to the point of pushing the organic results down the page significantly - the the pages that rank organically in the #1, #2, and #3 positions still generate approximately 60% of the clicks for that search. This may be due to the fact that paid advertisements are labeled as “Sponsored” or “Ads,” and users are becoming more savvy searchers.
• Control: SEO relies on search engine algorithms to determine rankings, making it a more difficult strategy to have control over. SEM, however, offers businesses the ability to have control over their ad campaigns, and offers metrics to assist businesses in making campaign decisions.

The primary similarity between SEO and SEM is that both are proven strategies that can help you achieve your business goals by driving traffic to your website from search engines.

Here are some additional ways that SEO and SEM are similar:

• Increase conversions: Both SEO and SEM increase your website's visibility in the search engines. Thus, this can drive traffic to your site, generate leads, and ideally, increase conversions.
• Targeted keywords: Both SEO and SEM are keyword driven. This means that when a user searches a keyword, both organic and paid results that appear on the SERP are based on that searched keyword. Both SEO and SEM benefit from a thorough keyword research process, and a firm understanding of organizing keywords into groups based on topic.
• Content optimization: SEO and SEM strategies should both be informed by search intent, and your targeted URLs should match the intent and sales funnel stage of your targeted keyword. In other words, the content that appears on the SERP should be useful and relevant to the audience!
• Measurable campaigns: The effectiveness of both SEO and SEM campaigns can be measured with a span of metrics, and in a variety of tools. SEO results can be reported with tools such as Moz Pro Campaigns, and SEM results can be measured in tools such as Google Ads reports.

The short answer - both! Combining your SEO and SEM strategies together is an effective way to achieve your short-term and long-term business goals. A comprehensive and sustainable SEO strategy is essential, while SEM is an effective short-term method for attracting business while you work on improving your website's technical health, content, and links.

Businesses should consider their goals, timeline, budget:

• Goals: Ultimately, your goal with any digital marketing strategy is to increase conversions, whether that be a purchase, download, filling out a form, or performing whatever your desired action may be.
• Timeline: SEO is a long-term strategy that includes on-page, off-page, and technical optimization. It can take time to experience results, and it's not within your control to determine how quickly this can happen. SEM, however, can generate expedited results and offer greater control of a campaign. It can lead to traffic and conversions immediately.
• Budget: Although it's often considered “free,” SEO takes time and resources to implement and maintain, depending on your industry and competitors. However, SEO has long-term residual effects that can drive traffic and conversions continually. SEM, on the other hand, can be more expensive in the long run, as it requires repeated reinvestment to pay for traffic.

If you have the time but a limited budget, focusing on SEO may be the best option. If you need immediate results and/or have a larger budget, then focusing on SEM may be the right solution. However, in general, a combination of both SEO and SEM can be effective for increasing your search visibility, driving traffic, and increasing conversions.

Updated by Chima Mmeje — November 18, 2024.