Introduction to Search Engine Marketing (SEM): A Quick Guide for Beginners

If you haven’t used Search Engine Marketing (SEM) for your business yet, then there is a big chance that you are limiting your business’s potential. SEM is key to achieving online success so it pays to consider including it on your strategy.

If you don’t know where to start, fret not. Here is a short guide to help you understand the concept of SEM.

SEM 101

Majority of activities online rely on the use of search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. Online users go to these platforms to perform online searches or queries. Once a search is made, these search engines provide a long list of results, usually arranged based on relevancy. This makes the information search much faster and convenient.

This provides businesses, regardless of size, shape, and industry, to reach to millions of people worldwide who might need their product or service. Appearing on the results pages is an opportunity for a business to introduce their brand, product, or service and potentially get discovered by interested customers or clients. These people would be prompted to visit your website, online store, or social media page, where you can influence them to make certain actions like subscribe, follow, or more importantly buy a product or book a service.

For all of this to work, SEM must come into play.

SEM has different components and uses a number of methods to make this happen. One method is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It is a process that involves optimizing your website so that search engines can give it a good rank on the results. In order to work, SEO involves strategies such as content development, link building, and many more.

Another SEM strategy is Pay Per Click (PPC), where your brand or business name is included on the search engine results pages (SERPs) as an ad. In effect, your business automatically appears on the first page of results, instantly improving your online visibility.

Learn more about the best SEO services and other SEM strategies by consulting with a digital marketing agency.