Search engine marketing, or SEM, is a predominant form of Internet marketing which promotes websites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages (SERPs) buy purchasing sponsored listings (PPC) or by increasing the ranking of a site's organic listing through search engine optimization techniques (SEO).
SEM is becoming synonymous with sponsored search advertising or pay-per-click (PPC) because it is the most common form of search engine marketing and quickest to implement.
SEO can be a very effective form of SEM because there is no charge per click, however results can take longer to achieve, rankings can change without warning, and can take a great deal of maintenance and fixed costs to implement.
A CHANGE HAS SWEPT THE WORLD
In 2008, search engines passed printed directories as the primary information source for local customers. Experts predict this trend will continue and even more people will turn to the search engines.
Here is the real opportunity
Typical businesses spend 46% of their advertising budget on Yellow Page listings and only 8.6% on internet marketing.
The businesses that invest in search engine marketing today will have a significant advantage over their competitors.