paid search advertising

What (the heck) does “SEM” mean?

The acronym "SEM" is one of many found in the digital marketing alphabet soup. (SEO, PPC, CPC and SERPs are closely related). SEM stands for "Search Engine Marketing", which actually has a history of what it means. Traditionally, the word "marketing" is a blanket term that covers any activities that are used to promote your brand and business, including public relations (PR), advertising and sales. So naturally one would think that the phrase "search engine marketing" or SEM...

For all the “SEM”s out there, “Marketing” is a BLANKET TERM!

Newbies may read the title of this article and wonder why the statement even needs to be made, but those in the industry probably understand right off the bat. If you're unfamiliar with the acronym SEM, it stands for Search Engine Marketing or Search Engine Marketer. Some correctly interpret this to mean any marketing activities to promote a business, brand or product through search engines OR a marketer who performs any activity to promote a business, brand or product through...