If you are wondering, “What is SEM?” you are not alone. There are a lot of terms in digital marketing that have similar definitions. In this article, we are aiming to clear up this confusion.

Here is the list that what we will cover:

• What is SEM?
• What is the difference between search marketing, SEO, SEM, and pay-per-click marketing?
• SEM Related Terms
• What is an SEM specialist?

What is SEM?

Search Engine Marketing is the process of using paid strategies to increase the search visibility. Earlier, Search Engine Marketing was a term used to describe both Search Engine Optimization and paid search. But now, it refers just to paid search marketing.
Brands pay for ads to appear as search results on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
They target selected keywords so that when a user searches for those terms in the search engine, they see an ad from the brand. The brand is charged only if the user clicks on the ad.

Paid ads can be found on any search results page. These paid ads are typically located at the top of the page.

What is  the Difference Search Marketing, SEO, Pay Per Click and SEM ?

Search Marketing

Search marketing refers to any strategy that is used to increase a brand’s search visibility or to get a brand appear more frequently in the search result. It includes a paid Search Engine Marketing tactic, an organic SEO tactic, or both.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization, or SEO, refers to those tactics that are used to improve organic visibility in search. Unlike Search Engine Marketing strategies, SEO aims to attract search engines and earn prominent organic search placements. Organic search results are not paid and don’t have an “Ad” designation on the search results.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Marketing

Pay Per Click (PPC) is a paid marketing tactic where a brand creates a digital ad and is charged every time a user clicks on it. When PPC ads are shown in search results, they are considered SEM. But Pay Per Click is not always related to Search Engine Marketing.

When PPC tacties are used on channels other than search, they are not considered SEM. For example, Pay Per Click can be used on sites that support digital ads like Promoted Tweets or Facebook Ads. Pay Per Click also includes Google display ads, where brands are charged when a user clicks on the banner ad of a website.

Related SEM terms

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) was once used for both SEO (search engine optimization) and paid search activities. With the time, the industry has adopted the term SEM to refer only to paid search.

At Search Engine Land, we generally use the terms like SEM, PPC and/or Paid Search to refer to paid listings, with the longer term of search marketing used to include both SEO and SEM.
Here are some of the most common terms which are also used to refer to SEM activities:

• Paid search advertising
• PPC (pay-per-click)
• PPC (pay-per-call) – Those ads that served to mobile search users, may be charged by the number of clicks that resulted in a direct call from a phone.
• CPC (cost-per-click) – Where advertiser pays for every click on an ad.
• CPM (cost-per-thousand impressions) – What Is CPM? CPM is where an advertiser pays for ads per one thousand advertisement impressions on a web page.

What is an SEM Specialist?

An SEM specialist is the person who has the understanding of search engine rankings required to devise a strategy that will bring a website to the top of search engine rankings. In doing such, they promote the company by attracting new visitors to the website and building their brand identity.

Educational Requirements

Since this is a relatively new field , the educational requirements may vary. Usually a company will require at least a bachelor’ s degree, and a few years of relevant experience.