Search engine marketing ( SEM ) is a form of Internet marketing that primarily promotes websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results pages ( SERPs ) through paid advertising. SEM may include search engine optimization ( SEO ), which adjusts or rewrites website content and website architecture to achieve higher rankings in search engine results pages, thereby improving pay per click ( PPC ) listings and increasing calls to action (CTAs) on the website.
According to the history and extension of search engine profitability, SEM involves four parts: PPC (pay per click, generally called keyword advertising in China ) + SEO (search engine optimization) + paid inclusion (YAHOO's business directory is a representative) + SMM (social media marketing). It is undeniable that new profit models will be added in the future.
SEM Market
In 2007, US advertisers spent $24.6 billion on seo education & blog library search engine marketing. In the second quarter of 2015, Google (73.7%) and Yahoo/Bing (26.3%) partners accounted for almost 100% of US search engine spending. Since 2006, SEM has grown much faster than traditional advertising and even other online marketing channels. Management of search campaigns can be done directly with an SEM vendor or through an SEM tool provider. It can also be done on a self-service basis or through an advertising agency.
As of October 2016, Google ranked first in the global search engine market with a market share of 89.3%. Bing ranked second with a market share of 4.36%, Yahoo ranked third with a market share of 3.3%, and the Chinese search engine Baidu ranked fourth with a market share of about 0.68%. In the second quarter of 2023, Google earned $42 billion in revenue.
Search engine marketing is also a method of business analysis, the main purpose of which is to provide organizations with useful information to find business opportunities and create profits. SEM can help organizations optimize marketing, attract more audiences and create more customers.