Search engines use complicated algorithms to ensure the most relevant results are returned for each search, including location and other available information.

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In paid search advertising, sponsored ads appear at the top of and on the side of search engine results pages to gain more visibility and prominence than the organic results.

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Let’s say that you are a customer looking for a product or service online. You go to a search engine and type in your search terms (also known as keywords).

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In your search results page, you will come across various company ads whose keywords match the keywords in your search.

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These ads appear in prominent locations on the page – along with the other search listings that match your keywords.

 

The paid listings are highly relevant to your specific search, making it likely that you will click on them.

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Now let’s take a look at how SEM campaigns work from the marketer’s perspective.

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SEM networks are self-serve operations. Once a marketer selects a network, they can get a campaign up within a short period of time.

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When setting up a campaign within an SEM network, the marketer is prompted to:

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• Conduct keyword research and select a set of keywords related to their website or product

• Select a geographic location for the ad to be displayed within

• Create a text-based ad to display in the search results

• Bid on a price they are willing to pay for each click on their ad

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Text-only ads are easy to produce. Marketers enter a headline, text for the body of the ad, a call-to-action and a URL for the hyperlink.

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Search engine marketing is considered by many to be the most efficient way to spend marketing dollars.