What is SEM (Search Engine Marketing)?

What is SEM (Search Engine Marketing) ?

"SEM" stands for "Search Engine Marketing," which is a combination of the words "Search Engine," referring to internet search tools, and "Marketing." Therefore, "SEM" or "Search Engine Marketing" means "marketing through search engine tools on the internet."

SEM (Search Engine Marketing) includes Paid Search or Search Advertising, which is advertising that is paid per click in the form of "PPC (Pay Per Click)," and Organic Search or Natural Search, which is the search results from the Search Engine's system. Marketing in this section is called "SEO (Search Engine Optimization)."

How Search Engine works ?

The search engines commonly used are Google, Bing, Yahoo!, Yandex, and Baidu. Google is the most popular search engine in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Thailand, accounting for over 90% of the market share. In Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, both Google and Yahoo! are popularly used. In Russia, Yandex is the most commonly used search engine, while Baidu is used in China.

Even though there are various search engines from different companies, the working principle is not different. Starting with entering a keyword in the search bar, the search engine processes and displays a list of websites with content matching the keyword on the search result page.

The higher the website ranks, the more chances it has to attract more visitors and increase service users or sales. For this reason, website owners need to do SEM (Search Engine Marketing) to promote their websites to rank on the first page of search results.

How important is SEM (Search Engine Marketing)?

SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is the process of online marketing on Search Result Pages by promoting to target customers who are search engine users to make them aware of our website, products, or services. This leads to increasing website traffic and greater opportunities for product and service sales.

There are currently numerous websites, SEM plays a crucial role in helping our website compete with our competitors. Additionally, SEM is an effective and targeted marketing technique because search engine users must use keywords to define the scope of their search each time they search for information.

What does SEM (Search Engine Marketing) include?

Example of search result from Google.co.th with the keyword "รับทำ seo"

SEM (Search Engine Marketing) can be divided into 2 main parts, which are:

1. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click, which involves purchasing ad space in the Paid Search or Search Advertising section on the Search Result Page. In this section, advertisers have to pay the search engine when someone clicks and visits their website. The main service provider for this is Google Ads.

Generally, SEO practices follow Google's rules since it is the most popular search engine globally. In addition, Google updates its algorithms regularly to manage low-quality websites and ensure that search results match users' queries. Therefore, website and content update are necessary to stay relevant.

What is SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?

2. PPC (Pay Per Click)

PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click advertising, which involves purchasing ad space in the Paid Search or Search Advertising section on the Search Result Page, such as Google Ads, where advertisers pay the search engine each time someone clicks on their website after viewing their ad.

PPC differs from SEO in that it allows for easy and quick ranking in top positions without needing to change the website's structure. Advertisers can simply bid on desired keywords, and their website can appear at the top of search results.

What is PPC (Pay Per Click) ?

How are SEM, PPC, and SEO different from each other?

PPC and SEO are both considered as marketing methods on search engines. However, in some sources, SEM refers only to PPC, which is buying ads, while both methods require using keywords and having a website that can support the visitors to view the information. The details of how to do and the strengths and weaknesses differ from each other, which can be summarized as follows.

PPC: There is a cost when someone clicks on the ad to visit the website, and the cost per click depends on the bidding for keywords, but the cost can be controlled within a set budget.
SEO: There is no cost when someone clicks on the ad to visit the website, but there may be other costs involved in improving the website to rank higher for certain keywords. If the competition for the keyword is high, the cost may also be higher, depending on the service provider.

PPC: Ads can be displayed quickly, within 24 hours, making it suitable for short-term or time-limited campaigns.
SEO: It takes time to improve and develop website content until it ranks high in search results, which can take from a few days to several months or even years depending on various factors such as the difficulty of the keyword and competition. Therefore, it is suitable for long-term marketing strategies.

PPC: Display can be scheduled, for example, day and time. However, if bidding for a keyword is too low or the budget is too small, the ad may not be displayed. Additionally, if the ad is stopped or the budget runs out, the ad will disappear immediately.
SEO: Display is available 24 hours, but ranking may change constantly due to search engine updates. If the rules of the search engine are violated, the ranking may also disappear.

PPC: One expert can manage advertising efficiently and cost-effectively by adjusting the advertisement for the best performance.
SEO: Various experts may be required, such as web developers, SEO experts, and content writers, to improve and maintain the website's ranking constantly.

PPC:Some users may not click on ads because they see them as ads, but it is still considered a way to create brand awareness. This is because ads are displayed at the top of the search results, and if no one clicks, there is no cost incurred.
SEO:Some users trust websites that rank at the top more than others, making it easier to decide to buy products or use services.

SEM, PPC, and SEO are similar and different from each other, and they have different advantages and disadvantages. They can be chosen according to the objectives and budget or can be used together for marketing effectiveness and to reach the target audience as much as possible.

Please contact our sales department for further information
or to request a quote.

Contact Sales

Our SEM services

Our SEM services at AUN Thailand include a team of experts in both SEO and PPC.
Customers can choose to do marketing on search engines with us on both areas as a one-stop service.

SEM (Search Engine Marketing)