Search Engine Marketing - An Introduction

Before starting about the Search Engine Marketing or SEM we have to look at the very source of this field of marketing i.e the "Search Engine" itself....

So what is exactly is a Search Engine...????

In simple words a Search Engine is "A program that searches documents for specified keywords and returns a list of the documents where the keywords were found. So search engine is an internet-based tool that searches an index of dcuments for a particular term, phrase or text specified by user.

Typically, a search engine works by sending out a spider to fetch as many documents as possible. Another program, called an indexer, then reads these documents and creates an index based on the words contained in each document. Each search engine uses a proprietary algorithm to create its indices such that, ideally, only meaningful results are returned for each query.

In the fast information age internet, Search Engine Marketing is becoming an integral part of our lives. More and more people are able to access internet and are becoming net savvy thus opening a prominent and vast gateway for the marketers to target their audience in a more personalized way. The major objective of marketers is of Brand Awareness and Sales with the help of SEM.

Why Search Engine Marketing...????

• 85% of all traffic on the internet is referred from a search engine
• 90% of all users don’t look past the first 30 results (most only view top 10)
• Many websites aren’t even indexed, most are poorly optimized and get very little traffic from the search engines
• Cost-effective advertising
• Clear and measurable ROI
• Operates under this assumption:

More (relevant) traffic + Good Conv. Rate = More Sales/Leads

The major Search Engines in the world are as follows :

1. Google

2. Yahoo

3. MSN

4. AOL

5. Ask Jeeves

A Search Engine’s Goals & Objectives

• Accumulate large index (database) of web documents to search
• Provide highly-relevant results to users (better than competitors)
• Generate revenue via paid advertising and related business ventures that typically leverage large amount of traffic

How Do Search Engines Work?

• Spider “crawls” the web to find new documents (web pages, other documents) typically by following hyperlinks from websites already in the database

• Search engine indexes the content (text, code) in these documents by adding it to their huge databases and periodically updates this content

• Search engine searches its own database when user enters in a search to find related documents (not searching web pages in real-time)

• Search engine ranks resulting documents using an algorithm (mathematical formula) that assigns various weights to various ranking factors

So now comes the real question what really is Search Engine Marketing...????

Search Engine Marketing, or SEM, is a form of Internet marketing that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages or in other words SEM is the process of marketing a website via search engines.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) primarily comprises of two methods:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Marketing.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a technique applied to a website to increase the number of visitors by gaining high rankings on the search engines. SEO is the process of designing the web site to attract search engine spiders and improve a site's ranking for relevant keywords within a search engine's database. This process includes search engine and directory submission, which can require an inclusion fee.

So sum up the main points

• –Refers to the process of “optimizing” both the on-page and off-page ranking factors in order to achieve high search engine rankings for targeted search terms.

• –Refers to the “industry” that revolves around obtaining high rankings in the search engines for desirable keyword search terms as a means of increasing the relevant traffic to a given website.

• –Refers to an individual or company that optimizes websites for its clientele.

• –Has a number of related meanings, and usually refers to an individual/firm that focuses on optimizing for “organic” search engine rankings

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Marketing:

“Pay-per-Click” Marketing is a form of on-line advertising where the owner of an advertisement is charged in direct proportion to the number of times the advertisement is clicked on by web users. These advertisements usually appear beside a search engine's natural listings or beside a web page.

The main features of PPC marketing are:

• PPC ads appear as “sponsored listings”
• Companies bid on price they are willing to pay “per click”
• Typically have very good tracking tools and statistics
• Ability to control ad text
• Can set budgets and spending limits
• Google AdWords and Yahoo Search Marketing (YSM) formerly Overture are the two leaders

PPC vs. “Organic” SEO

Pay-Per-Click	"Organic" SEO
Results in 1-2 days	Results take 2 weeks to 4 months
Easier for a novice or one without much knowledge of SEO	Requires ongoing learning and experience to reap results
Ability to turn on and off at any moment	Very difficult to control flow of traffic
Generally more costly per visitor and per conversion	Generally more cost-effective, doesn’t penalize for more traffic
Fewer impressions and exposure	SERPs are more popular than sponsored ads
Easy to compete in highly competitive market space (but it will cost you)	Very difficult to compete in highly competitive market space
Can generate exposure on related sites (AdSense)	Can generate exposure on related websites and directories
Ability to target “local” markets	More difficult to target local markets
Better for short-term and high-margin campaigns	Better for long-term and lower margin campaigns