Search Engine Marketing, or SEM, is a form of Internet marketing that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) through the use of paid placement, contextual advertising, and paid inclusion.

The term “Search Engine Marketing” was proposed by Danny Sullivan in 2001 to cover the area of activities involved in performing SEO, managing paid listings at the search engines, submitting sites to directories, and developing online marketing strategies for businesses, organizations, and individuals.

SEM - Search Engine Marketing - Define Your Message

Successful search marketing helps a site gain top positioning for relevant words and phrases. To others, SEO is synonymous with SEM — search engine marketing. For any online marketing venture to be successful it is essential to have a well thought out search engine marketing strategy. Social media should be a part of any successful search engine marketing strategy.

SEM (aka Search Engine Marketing) can be broadly broken down into two categories:

• SEO – Search Engine Optimization
  SEO includes technical tasks to make it easier for search engines to find and index a site for the appropriate keywords, as well as marketing-focused tasks to make a site more appealing to users. No SEM campaign is complete without SEO.Moreover, since the purpose of SEO is to make the site better for both search engines and users, you may find that it will suffice on its own. Even if you are going to spend additional money on advertising and paid placement, SEO must be your first step in promoting your site.
• Pay Per Click
  Pay per click (PPC) is an Internet advertising model used on websites, in which advertisers pay their host only when their ad is clicked. Pay Per Click (PPC) search engine marketing is by far the fastest growing segment of online marketing, and the reason is clear – when managed with the right blend of expertise and insight, PPC marketing will put your website on Google’s map.By 2007, pay-per-click programs proved to be primary money-makers for search engines. A good Web site optimization strategy paired with a strong pay per click campaign will help you increase your exposure, and therefore your sales.Pay per click advertising is a great way to secure your web site a spot at the top of search engine rankings. You could spend a lot of time studying the various pay per click engines and pouring over the intricate details required to properly implement, optimize, and manage your pay per click campaigns.

As of 2006, SEM was growing much faster than traditional advertising and even other channels of online marketing.

Search engine optimization companies are constantly expanding their offerings to help businesses learn about and use the advertising opportunities offered by search engines.

 Claudiu Geanta is a serial entrepreneur and founder of Design by Satori Inc. & Satori CG Inc.. He helps businesses promote their presence on and off line. He is also an accomplished web designer, book writer and photographer. You can follow him on Twitter.
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