What is SEM?
SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing. Ever notice those “Google” and “Yahoo” ads on the various sections of websites and on the right side of the search results. Those are called PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Ads. That’s how Google and a number of other search engines make a majority of their revenue. This is how it works, every time someone clicks on one of those ads, Google gets paid. If one of those ads is on a website and gets clicked on, the website owner gets a percentage of Google’s cut. Advertisers are paying for those ads to be shown per click. Each time, someone clicks on one of their ads, they get billed, and Google gets paid. So if I write an ad promoting dog food, I have to bid on “dog food” related keywords. Let’s say the keyword “dog food” currently costs $0.50 a click. Someone who found my ad using “dog food” as their search query and clicks on my ad, I’m then charged $0.50. Welcome to Search Engine Marketing :).
SEM is a whole separate world apart from SEO and Link Building. It’s an industry in itself, with its own proper strategies and techniques. You can’t simply buy your way to the top ad listings. Google has a ranking system and looks for specific factors in your ad. Someone who paid less than you but composed a better ad will rank higher.
PPC Marketing is actually how I was introduced to this world of online marketing. I started with Google’s PPC Program, Adwords. Trying to entice searchers to click on ads and to achieve a conversion can be a daunting task. You have to persuade searchers to click on your ads, then out of the ones that do click on your ads, you have to persuade them to fill out a form or make a purchase. However, there are experts that achieve great success with such campaigns.
Do you need it? In my opinion, I think focusing on just SEO and the organic rankings should be the primary focus of any business’s online marketing efforts. It’s free and can bring much more traffic than SEM in my opinion. However, if you were to utilize both methods successfully, then you would absolutely dominate the competition. Searchers using your targeted keywords will only see listings for your business on both the organic (left) and paid (right) listings.
If you decide to go the SEM route, make sure you educate yourself in the industry before you jump in. You can easily and quickly spend a lot of money with no results. Be sure to seek an expert or thoroughly study the industry before begin a PPC campaign.