If someone were looking for a product or service, wouldn’t you want your business’s name to appear in front of them right at that moment?

Search engine marketing can make that happen. In fact, 41% of U.S. customers find products and services through online searches. It’s one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to expose buyers to your business. Read on to understand SEM basics.

What Is SEM?

SEM is an acronym for “search engine marketing.” It improves a business’s online and mobile visibility through paid ad placement.

How SEM Leads to Improved Visibility

Traditionally, SEM uses a pay per click (PPC), or cost per click (CPC), model, where you select key phrases relevant to your line of work. Your business will appear in a search result ad when users search for that key phrase. If they click through to your website via the ad or sponsored link, then you pay for that lead.

An Example of How Pay Per Click Works

Let’s say you’re a dentist who wants to advertise through SEM. The placement of your listing is based primarily on how much you’re willing to spend per click. To be on the first page in the first spot of a search engine’s results, you might need to pay $40 per click. You can also pay $1 per click or less, but that may land you on the 10^th page of the search results. Different professions and industries have different levels of competition, so the cost differs accordingly.

Benefits of SEM

1. Tailor your ad message and keywords to suit your needs. Your audience can be as broad or as local and niche as you want. Just select keywords accordingly.
2. Establish a monthly spending cap so you never spend more than you want. Start as small as you like and build your budget as your business grows.
3. Track results with greater precision.
4. Pay only to reach people who show an interest in your product or service by clicking on your message, ad, content or location map.