Search Engine Marketing

Paid Media

Also: SEM · Paid Search

What it isPaid advertising on search engine results

MainlyGoogle Ads search campaigns

Priced byAuction, usually per click

Quick definition

Search engine marketing, or SEM, is paid advertising that puts your business in front of people at the moment they search. In practice it usually means paid search, the text ads at the top of Google results, bought through Google Ads. You bid to appear for chosen search terms and typically pay when someone clicks. Some people use SEM to cover both paid search and search engine optimisation, but the common modern meaning is the paid side.

Where it shows up in the data

The auction

Every search triggers an instant auction. Your position depends on your bid and on the quality and relevance of your ad and landing page, so a better ad can outrank a bigger budget.

Intent capture

Search advertising reaches people actively looking to buy, which is why it converts better than most channels. You are meeting demand, not creating it.

Paid versus organic

Paid search buys the top spot for as long as you pay. Organic search earns a position that keeps working. The strongest programmes build both.

What it actually means

SEM works on an auction. You choose the search terms you want to appear for, write ads and set a bid and budget. When someone searches, Google runs an instant auction and decides which ads show and in what order, based on your bid and the quality and relevance of your ad and landing page. You usually pay only when someone clicks. The strategic appeal is intent. Unlike display or social, search advertising reaches people who are actively looking for what you sell right now, which is why it converts strongly. The trade-off is that you pay for every click and stop appearing the moment you stop paying, whereas the organic results you could earn through SEO keep working. The best programmes use paid search to capture urgent demand and to test messaging, while building organic strength underneath.

Paid search is the fastest way to buy your way to the top of the results and the fastest way to keep paying for a position you could own.

How it shows up

SEM shows up as the labelled ads at the top of a Google results page and in Google Ads as campaigns, keywords, cost per click and conversions. In analytics it appears as paid search traffic, distinct from the organic search results below it.

The Australian context

In the Australian market, Google dominates search so SEM effectively means Google Ads for most businesses. Costs per click vary enormously by industry, with competitive categories like legal, finance and trades commanding some of the highest bids in the market.

Where people get this wrong

Treating paid search as the whole strategyRenting every click forever with no organic or brand building keeps your cost per acquisition permanently high. Use paid search to capture demand while you build cheaper channels underneath.

Ignoring landing page qualitySearch ads send people to a page, and a weak page wastes the click and raises your costs through poor quality score. The ad and the page have to work together.

Bidding on broad terms without controlLoose keyword matching burns budget on irrelevant searches. Control match types and negative keywords so you pay for the searches that actually fit.

Common questions

What is search engine marketing?

It is paid advertising that puts your business in front of people at the moment they search, mainly through paid search ads on Google. You bid to appear for chosen terms and usually pay per click.

What is the difference between SEM and SEO?

SEM is the paid side, buying ad placement at the top of search results. SEO is the organic side, earning a ranking without paying per click. SEM is faster to switch on, SEO compounds and keeps working.

Is search engine marketing worth it?

For capturing people who are actively searching for what you sell, yes, because the intent is high and it converts well. The mistake is relying on it alone rather than building organic search and brand to lower your cost over time.

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About New Rebellion

New Rebellion is a marketing intelligence consultancy. We build tools, score Australian businesses on how their marketing actually performs, and publish Debrief every day. This dictionary is part of how we work in the open.

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