Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a form of digital marketing that aims to increase visibility in search engines such as Google or Bing. Search engine marketing is an effective way to gain visibility and traffic to websites because it reaches users just when they are searching for information, products, or services using search engines.

Search engine marketing can be targeted regionally (eg. Finland) or globally, taking into account the language of the region.

Search engine marketing results are easy to measure and track. Advertisers can choose which keywords to show their ads for to reach exactly those users who are searching for specific products or services. For example, you can see how many people have seen your ad, how many people clicked on it, and how many people took a purchase or other desired action as a result of the ad.

Search engine marketing can be divided into two main categories: search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine advertising (SEA).

Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the technical and content optimization of websites so that they get a better ranking in search engine organic, i.e. free, search results. This can include, for example, using keywords, improving content, optimizing site loading speed, and building links.

Search engine advertising (SEA) refers to paid advertising in search engines. An example of this is Google’s advertising system, Google Ads, where an advertiser pays to show their ads on searches for specific search terms. Typically, an advertiser pays every time someone clicks on an ad (pay per click, PPC).

Search engine optimization (SEO), in particular, can be a cost-effective way to gain visibility in search engines, because organic, i.e. free, search results do not cost anything. Also, in search engine advertising (SEA), the advertiser typically only pays when the user clicks on the ad.

Search engine marketing also enables companies to compete effectively with larger players. Well-optimized websites and cleverly targeted ads can get a good ranking in search results, regardless of the size of the company.

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