What is SEM Marketing, and Why Is It Important?

Search Engine Marketing, or SEM, originated in the early 2000s and used to be pretty straightforward. Until recently, if you said SEM, almost every marketer knew what you meant. But what is SEM today?

However, things have evolved nowadays, and SEM isn’t as clear-cut as it once was. Luckily, we are here to discuss what Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is and why it is essential.

Note: In this article, we’ll frequently refer to Google since it dominates the search engine market with over 90.68% market share and dictates what a search engine should do.

Let’s jump in!

What is SEM in Marketing?

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a digital marketing strategy that aims to drive traffic and visibility through search engine results pages (SERPs) based on a user’s search query through paid and organic activities.

SEM is a vital tool in the digital marketing toolbox. It can help you attract new customers, increase revenue, and give your website a prime spot on the SERPs.

However, as many marketers are, there are as many definitions as possible. But here is Dr. Danny Sullivan’s take on what SEM marketing is, based on his vast experience as a Google advisor and the co-founder of SearchEngineLand:

A form of internet marketing that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages (SERPs). SEM methods include search engine optimization (SEO), paid placement, contextual advertising, digital asset optimization, and paid inclusion.

Dr. Sullivan’s perspective coincides with many other marketers and represents one of the early interpretations of SEM.

Thus, picture it this way: the higher you are on SERP, the more people are likely to find your site, gain insight, make purchases, or engage in other interactions. As a result, it helps businesses increase their online presence, pinpoint their target audience, and keep a sharp eye on how well their strategy works.

How Does SEM Marketing Work?

Whether a business is all-in on SEO or PPC, both strategies are linked to a fundamental element – keywords. Based on keywords, you can understand what users are actively searching for when they type into a search engine so you can optimize your campaigns.

Of course, voice searches are also becoming important as more people use voice assistants like Google Assistant and Siri, which are also based on keywords. Thus, voice queries tend to be more conversational, requiring businesses to rethink their keyword strategies and optimize for natural language.

As a result, when a user enters a particular keyword or search term, SEM ensures your brand appears as a result of that query. Yet, achieving a high-ranking position can be accomplished through PPC or SEO methods/strategies, which brings us closer to our next point:

There are seven types of Search Engine Marketing, and the most essential ones are Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-per-Click (PPC). But allow us to get into the details.

7 Types of SEM Marketing

As Sullivan explained, SEO and PPC were integral to SEM when they first appeared. Yet, as the industry progressed, SEO and PPC developed well enough to build their strategies. Thus, over 20 years later, we can pinpoint seven types of SEM:

Organic through keyword optimization, quality content creation, backlink building, on-page, and technical SEO;
Paid drives quick and targeted traffic to landing pages, with the help of text ads and dynamic search ads, budget and bid management;
Local targets users searching for businesses or services within specific geographical areas, usually through Google My Business optimization;
Voice assists users in conducting searches via voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant;
Image optimization promotes visual content’s appearance in search engine image results by adding image alt text and descriptive filenames;
The shop displays product ads directly on search engine results pages, often with images, prices, and ratings;
Social search integrates different functionalities within social media platforms to discover content, products, or services.

However, let’s see the relationship between SEM vs SEO vs PPC today.

SEM vs. SEO vs. PPC

SEO is a digital marketing tactic used to improve the quality of a webpage and how it appears within search engines, regardless of them, such as Google, Bing, YouTube, TikTok, and others.

Moreover, Search Engine Optimization focuses on reaching high in SERPs, which unfolds other benefits, such as increased traffic, by using non-paid tactics like publishing quality content that contains your target keywords.

For instance, consider the keyword Christmas gifts:

As you can see, the best companies that rank on that keyword are Click & Grow, BlueGifts, and Alibaba. However, they artificially rank well because they paid to appear in a leading position on that keyword, using PPC.

So, from this example, remember that advertisers pay for clicks and/or impressions, which can help bring visitors to the website, landing page, social media channels, or products. Simply put, marketers pay or bid for the top space in SERPs on a specific keyword using PPC methods.

This was possible through the following process of participating in an ad auction in Google Ads. First, they determined two crucial elements: the keywords they wish to bid on and the amount they’re willing to spend per click on that keyword.

However, several factors influence the auction outcome, even if the ad aligns well with the chosen keyword. Generally, Google considers five primary factors during an ad auction:

Maximum Bid is the highest amount they’ll pay for a click on the ad.
Quality Score attributes a value from 1-10 that Google assigns to evaluate the ad’s relevance and usefulness for users.
Impact of Ad Extensions helps with additional information in that ad, such as phone numbers and specific page links.
Ad Rank is a blend of their bid and the quality of their ad and landing page, with ads required to meet minimum quality thresholds to secure higher positions.
Ad Context means that Google factors in various aspects, including the search term used, user location, search time, device, and more.

Quality Score is a crucial determinant, as it’s the reason your ad wins auctions for pertinent queries.

However, if they no longer bid on that keyword, the BestProducts and GoodHousekeeping sites would rank in first position on SERP because their articles rank the best from an organic point of view, thanks to their SEO strategy.

This was possible because the general quality of their article is better. Getting a better position on Google is all about producing excellent content.

So, create well-researched, informative articles that genuinely help your readers. To grab that top spot, ensure your content covers all aspects of the topic. Include relevant examples, case studies, and stats to make it more credible and engaging for your readers.

Top Components of SEM Marketing

In the following chapters will discuss the critical components of Search Engine Marketing, which consists of:

Keywords;
Analytics;
Content;
Linking;
Ad copy;
Ad bidding.

1. Keywords and Keyword Research

As mentioned, keywords are the foundation upon which SEM unfolds, whether paid or organic.

When discussing the organic side, you should look for key metrics such as keyword volume, intent, and difficulty when doing keyword research. Thus, you will find out what consumers are searching for, giving you a rough idea of how to tackle your content marketing strategy and the best practices to keep them engaged and ongoing.

In contrast, you should tap into the paid side’s volume and intent, cost-per-click, and competitive density. This way, you can estimate the budget and your strategy based on the average cost advertisers pay for specific keywords.

2. SEM Analytics

Analytics make the world go round; thus, it is a vital component of the Search Engine Marketing (SEM) system. On the organic side, depending on your business niche, you can check top web analytics in GA4, such as users’ time on site, organic traffic, conversions, and others.

When discussing paid campaigns, you can find top metrics within the platform of your choice. These metrics give you critical insights on cost-per-click, cost-per-acquisition, impressions, CTR, and more.

3. Content Marketing

Is content still the king? Yes, it is. However, with all the Google updates and changes, content isn’t only the king; it now holds the power to differentiate your SEM strategy.

As a result, in 2024 and beyond, content is more than keyword stuffing, hoping to hit the spotlight. This is no longer the case with the Google Helpful Content update, as we must tailor our content to answer user intent directly.

So, when working towards your content deliverables, we can all say to write for your audience and their needs and, as humans, to unlock new content pathways.

4. Linking

Both internal linking and backlinking are essential for a fruitful SEM strategy, and it is vital to understand that I can not be one without the other in a balanced ratio.

Internal linking is the key to accelerating your existing content by strategizing your pages to point at one another. As a result, you show search engines, or Google, that your pages have a close relationship, and it helps users jump from one page to another in a relevant manner.

Backlinks are where the magic happens, and your website gets rewarded. Thus, it is best to aim for quality over quantity, meaning having a few high-quality links is better than too many spammy links.

5. Ad Copywriting

As the name suggests, ad copy is how you design your messaging for your user’s needs and experience while setting expectations. Regardless of the chosen platform, you still need to check some criteria, such as the number of ad variants you have at your disposal and the number of headlines or descriptions.

However, the rule of thumb is to design your ad campaign messaging based on your keywords and your target audience’s behavior.

6. Ad Bidding

Ad bidding is the auction that happens each time a user searches the Internet. Behind the simple action in the backend, there are many contributing factors: the bid, the platforms, the ad quality score, relevant copy, and others.

Remember what Google considers primary factors during an ad auction?

So, when debating how to implement a marketing strategy that favors SEM, ensure you have the main components and then fine-tune it like a radio frequency, as the key is within the details.

5 Best Practices for SEM Marketing Success

1. Understanding Campain Structure

It is vital to understand your campaign structure and ensure strategic bids. But let’s break it down, and for this, we will use Google Ads as an example:

The campaign is where you lay the strategic foundation since it contains multiple ad groups. At this level, you set the budget, audience, and additional fine-tuned details that affect all the ad groups.
Ad groups can be found within each campaign, and they organize your strategy based on targeted keywords.
Keywords are turning the wheels upon which your bid for each ad set.
The ad is what your users will see when they trigger the system based on its search.

2. Target Audience and User Intent

A well-defined target audience is great, but understanding the user intent is even better. User intent refers to what visitors intend to do when they start a search or click a link. Thus, there are four types of user intent, each highlighting an essential behavior.

Navigational when users want to find a specific site or page;
Informational when they want to find particular information on any topic;
Commercial intent is used when users research products, services, or brands;
Transactional when users want to perform a transaction.

3. Effective Market Research

To create an effective SEM strategy, you must first understand your target audience and what matters to them. Your landing page should speak directly to a specific audience with a compelling message. Here’s what you should do:

Craft copy that resonates with your audience’s intent and your offerings;
Conduct interviews with current customers and prospects to discover what they value about your product or service, their pain points, and how your product addresses them;
Analyze your competition to see who they are targeting and the language they use;
Identify what differentiates you from your competitors: unique features or exceptional customer support.

4. Use SEO in Your SEM Strategy

As discussed in the article, it’s not about pitting SEM against SEO or SEM against PPC. In a well-rounded SEM strategy, SEO and PPC should complement each other. So, focus on creating timeless content that stays relevant, leverage PPC to achieve rapid traffic, and harness SEO for steady, long-term growth. This way, you won’t depend heavily on PPC in the long run.

Avoid myopic thinking. Combining SEM with SEO can reduce your PPC spending while achieving your goals.

5. The UI/ UX and Website Ratio

As a complementary add-on, a powerful yet user-friendly website designed with a user-centered approach can do wonders for any business in any industry. Since technology has progressed long enough and users are spending more time on the Internet, having a robust and speedy website, besides your content and all of the above already discussed, benefits both parties.

Bonus Tip: A/B Testing Complement SEM

Good, old A/B testing does wonders when optimizing your SEM efforts for high-quality traffic and increased conversion rate. For example, you can use it to test ad copy and analyze your landing pages to increase your Quality Score with search engine marketing networks while reducing your average CPC.

Top 5 SEM Marketing Tools to Integrate

If you’re new to SEM and don’t know where to start, we’ve covered you with various helpful tools, some of which are free, and others require payment. These tools can significantly improve your experience and results, so you must be aware of their existence:

Google Ads (free) – Helps you set up and manage paid ad campaigns on Google.
Google Keyword Planner (free) – Google’s tool for generating keyword ideas.
Google Trends (free) – Allows you to find trending keywords and analyze keyword trends and seasonality.
ChatGPT (freemium) – Your SEM content assistant.
Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer (paid) – Useful for generating keyword ideas, obtaining more precise keyword data, and analyzing your competitors.

Final Thoughts on What is SEM Marketing

We hope you have learned about what is SEM marketing and understand this broad concept, which covers various elements and can significantly contribute to a business’s success in search engine results.

Yet, SEM is more than PPC. More precisely, it has a strong relationship with SEO as well. When you blend these two, you have a killer strategy to up your online game and score big in search engines.

All left for you now is to get to work, so we wish you to be loved by Google and hopefully see you as high up in at least this search engine.