What Does SEM Stand For?

The short answer: SEM stands for search engine marketing. That sounds like a simple explanation, but I can’t just stop there. I would be remiss if I did not explain at least a little about SEM and the various aspects that can be incorporated into a campaign. 

Search engine marketing and search engine optimisation are two terms that are often used interchangeably. However, they are not the same. SEO is included in SEM but is not the be all and end all of marketing your website on a search engine. The same can be said for pay per click or PPC. In my opinion, SEM is a campaign which encompasses both organic and paid search.

SEO is the process of making your website relevant for and an authority on whatever niche it is that you are working in. If the SEO for your website is done correctly you stand the chance of ranking in search engines’ natural or organic results listings. In the long run this means that you can get what amounts to free traffic. 

It is a time-consuming task and needs to be future proofed as much as possible. It is too easy for those who are lazy or do not know any better to do long lasting damage to your search engine rankings. The best plan is to make sure that whoever is doing your SEO does so by the book. Google’s book that is.

Pay per click or PPC is an instant source of traffic as long as you have the budget available to spend on advertising. With a couple of day’s hard work, you can create a campaign on a platform like Google’s Adwords which will bring in traffic that could potentially convert to sales. If it is done correctly, PPC can give you a great return on investment.

A particular feature of PPC that makes it very attractive to the marketing team is the fact that you can track conversions pretty accurately. Unlike newspaper advertisements or billboards you can track how many people have seen your adverts and how many of them clicked through to your website. You can then track how many of those actually completed the goal you designed your campaign to cover. 

SEM is a vital part of being successful online – whether it is a company website or an affiliate marketing product that you are promoting. As any business owner would know, it is impossible to sell a product if nobody knows about it and marketing, especially online, is the fastest way to get the word out about a new product.