What is Search Engine Marketing (SEM)? The role of SEM for online businesses

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is one of the most effective ways to grow your business in an increasingly competitive market. With millions of businesses out there competing, online advertising has never been more important and Search Engine Marketing is the most effective way to promote your products and grow your business.

What is Search Engine Marketing (SEM)?

What is Search Engine Marketing (SEM)? The role of SEM for online businesses Picture 1

Search Engine Marketing, or SEM, is a set of marketing methods used to increase the visibility of a website in search engine results pages. Types of Search Engine Marketing include: Social network optimization, SEO, PPC and PPI. Search Engine Marketing is different from SEO (making websites attractive to online search engines on the Internet).

The role of SEM for online businesses

What is Search Engine Marketing (SEM)? The role of SEM for online businesses Picture 2

 Non-profit companies, universities, government organizations, etc. can all benefit from Search Engine Marketing. Companies that offer services and/or items online can use Search Engine Marketing to help increase their sales.

Some of the goals of Search Engine Marketing are to establish a brand, create media content protection, enhance reputation, and drive a business to a physical location.

If you don't feel 100% confident enough to try your own Search Engine Marketing strategy, there are a number of businesses that can help (for a price, of course). If you decide to choose an online SEM company, take the time to review and find one that truly fits your business requirements. Take a closer look at companies that guarantee first page rankings on major online search engines, like Google and Yahoo.

An inaccurate guarantee often used by shady online businesses is the money-back guarantee. If you examine the deal closely, you'll see that these businesses often have a very odd concept of a primary search engine. Companies with money-back guarantees typically do not deal with large online search engines like Google or Yahoo, instead they use a small, rarely used online search engine.

The Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) was developed in 2003 to provide the public with educational resources on Search Engine Marketing and promote SEM. SEMPO has Search Engine Marketing training courses for anyone looking to expand their knowledge of SEM. SEMPO's goal is to teach effective techniques, methods and practices related to Search Engine Marketing, helping to establish important criteria.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 13 October 2023