Known as a type of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, SEM is a service or a form of paid advertising that is performed to promote your website, content, or brand at the very top of the search engine results. By placing an ad of your content in the most prominent position, it can significantly increase visibility and generate more traffic to your website.
SEM can be executed on various search engine platforms such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, 360, and Baidu. Given that Google holds over 90% of the search market share, it is evident that the majority of internet users choose Google Search as their primary method to find websites, products, and services.
Consequently, the focus of SEM strategies often revolves around Google Ads for conducting paid search advertising campaigns on Google Search. Typically, marketers refer to SEM campaigns as ad campaigns performed through Google Ads.
Like the PPC format, Advertisers bid on suitable keywords that are relevant to the content of their website, brand, or services so their Google Ads can reach their target audience successfully.