Search Engine Marketing (SEM) refers to the practice of promoting websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) through paid advertising. Unlike search engine optimization (SEO), which focuses on improving a site’s organic ranking through various techniques, SEM involves purchasing ads to appear alongside or above the organic search results.
Typically, SEM includes various forms of online advertising, such as pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, where advertisers bid on keywords relevant to their business. These ads are displayed to users who search for those keywords, aiming to drive traffic to the advertiser’s website and increase conversion rates.
In essence, SEM is a strategy to boost a website’s prominence and attract potential customers by leveraging paid placements in search engine results.