Explain search engine marketing - Article Example

Search Engine Marketing The role of technology in advertising is evolving. The internet is rapidly becoming an avenue for business people to advertise their products. The globalization of markets has significantly influenced the use of internet for advertising of products. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) increases the visibility of a website in the search engine results page (SERP). It mainly comprises of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or Pay per Click so as to increase the ranking of the website ranking on the SERP (Andreas, 2008).

SEO involves adjusting or rewriting the website content so as to achieve a higher ranking on the search engine pages. On the other hand, Pay per Click increases the visibility of the paid components only. Today, there are various vendors of Search Engine Marketing. The use of SEM rapidly increased in 1992 following the increase in the number of websites in the internet (Andreas, 2008). Today, the largest SEM vendors include Yahoo! Search Marketing, Google and Microsoft adCenter. Search Engine Optimization involves the identification of keywords, saturation and popularity of the site.

The saturation of a website is analyzed using the number of pages that can be indexed in the search engines. On the other hand, popularity of the site is the number of backlinks associated with the site. This means that the advertising website should contain the keywords that people are search for in the internet and that these words rank high on the search engine. Pay per Click, also known as paid inclusion, entails a search engine company charging a fee for inclusion of a website in their pages (Richard, 2010).

The use of search engine as a form of advertising is an imperative modality of internet marketing. This is attributed to the fact that more than 80% of people rely on search engine in locating products on the internet. In addition, it is cost effective compared to the traditional form of advertising using print and broadcasting media. Search engine marketing facilitates the increase of sales as it is accessible to many users at the same time. It also overcomes the challenge of geographical boundaries as the internet is accessible globally.

Although it is cost effective, it is an intricate method that necessitates the use of consultancy services from professional. This adds to the cost of advertising online.There has been a rise in the use of search engines for shopping. After a shopper has undergone the research cycle, search queries change into terms which reflect the buying mindset. Terms such as “free shipping”, “best price” among others signal the online shopper in need of purchasing. This serves to attract the attention of the shopper.

Internet pages are optimized so as to meet the expectations of a visitor to the site (Richard, 2010).Although an online shopper can use the regular search engines for shopping purposes, some people find it efficient to use search engines that are tailor made for the process of buying. Some websites are essentially search engines designed for shopping. These include sites like Amazon and eBay. Mainstream engines such as Google and yahoo have their own shopping products. In these sites, the shopper types the search term for the interested product.

The search engines returns the item that the shopper seeks. The results comprise listed items (Elliot, 2006). From the list, the online shopper can then select the needed product. The shopper is issued with information pertaining to ordering. The purchasing and shipping can then be finalized. There is an increased probability that a shopper will get what he/she wants with the use of search engines. The odds are that a person somewhere has the exact thing that the shopper seeks to buy (Chadwick, 2005).

As an example, a shopper interested in buying a certain book may access Amazon, which is a site dealing books. The shopper can then type the title of the book, or key words relating to the book. Amazon will then return a result list, from where you can select the product. You can then buy the book directly from Amazon, or go over to the “used book section” for cheaper items.ReferencesAndreas, R. (2008), Search Engine Marketing, NY: McGraw Hill.Chadwick, T. (2005), "How search engine marketing tools can work for you; or, searching is really all about finding, third of three articles", Information Outlook.

Retrieved 2012-05-05. (http:/ / findarticles. com/ p/ articles/ mi_m0FWE/ is_11_9/ ai_n15966835/ ?tag=content;col).Elliott, S. (2006). "More agencies investing in marketing with a click”. New York Times,14th Feb, 2006. Retrieved 2012-05-05. (http:/ / www. nytimes. com/ 2006/ 03/ 14/ business/media/ 14adco. html?ex=1299992400& en=6fcd30b948dd1312& ei=5088)Richard, S. (2010), Ultimate Guide to Pay-Per-Click Advertising, Chicago: Entrepreneur Press.