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Search engine marketing (SEM) is a type of marketing via the Internet that promotes websites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages (SERP) through the use of the following methods:
• Paid placement
• Contextual advertising
• Paid inclusion
SEM can be used through services like Google AdWords which utilizes all three methods of SEM (i.e. paid placement, contextual advertising, and paid inclusions). Similar services include Clicksor, Pocketcents, Kontera, Infolinks, Bidvertiser, Yahoo advertising, and adbrite, among others. What each of these services have in common is that each allows an individual or business to pick a keyword or set of keywords relevant to their field, bid on the keyword(s), determine what form of advertising is desired (e.g. banner, textual, etc.), and decide where and when you would like the ads to be placed. If it sounds complicated, don't worry, it's easier than it sounds. SEM has been proven time and again to produce results for individuals or businesses using this service.
Depending on what field you're in, however, search engine marketing can cost you a pretty penny. Again, the cost of your SEM "campaign" is dependent on a whole host of factors like keyword popularity, number of advertisements to be used daily and at what time (peak vs. downtime), and the service provider you choose you work with. Google AdWords has established itself as a favorite of those using SEM because it produces results in a user friendly way. The SEM alternatives to AdWords are worth your while too but be careful, you might just get what you pay for.
In contrast to SEM, search engine optimization (SEO) is also an Internet marketing strategy that uses a number of diverse tools to market websites. The ultimate goal of SEO is to make the website in question more relevant with regard to search engine search results and their respective rankings. SEO is a natural or "unpaid" (i.e. organic) way to increase your website's search results that takes into consideration how different search engines function and the actual terms being searched for and typed into search engines. SEO also takes note of what people search for and which search engines are preferred by their target audience.
SEO can consist of a number of different activities such as:
• Editing a website's tags
• Editing a website's HTML and associated coding
• Adding outbound links to better recognized or most prestigious websites in your field
SEO, thus, is a cheap way to market your website on the Internet. However, it is time-consuming in learning and applying the techniques necessary to carry out a good SEO campaign. If you aren't proficient in SEO, you'd best bet that your competition is. If you notice their website on the first few pages of a search engine search then you're probably in the right to conclude that they have some SEO experience under their belt.
SEM is a very effective Internet marketing method that is very simple and doesn't use up much of your time. However, SEO is usually a much cheaper option. Depending on your budget, you may find long SEM campaigns impractical. Therefore I would recommend weighing the costs and benefits of using SEM before doing so. If, for example, you spend $200 using SEM, what will your returns be, how many new clients will you generate? Remember too that there are companies you can find on the Internet that will take care of both of your SEO and SEM needs for you. Look for a SEO/SEM company that can deliver actual results and not just empty promises.
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Source by Josh Baldwin
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