In the world of Internet, competitive rules are determined by the popularity of a firm’s website and not by its physical assets. Thus, each firm should develop its own website to compete with that of the rivals and also to draw the customer’s attention. There are preferred ‘gateways’ known as Search Engines that determine the positioning of the various websites. This article gives an idea about the concept of Search Engine Marketing that has emerged as an efficient marketing device to promote a brand online. The article also explains the different types of SEMs and elucidates how to initiate a SEM strategy. The author also explains the significance and market dynamics of SEM. The article concludes with the global scenario of SEM industry and presents SEM as an effective online advertising strategy.

Can you guess the total number of websites that are competing hard to capture the attention of Internet users? The most recent data discloses that there are above three billion websites that have advertised themselves in the search engines (data is only in the case of Google) and the figure is still rising. Even if we go by the lowest proportion and assume that the searchers spend a second or even lesser time on each website, their whole lifetime will not be enough to browse all the websites on Google alone. There are at least 10 popular online Search Engines and more popular Web Directories with scores of websites in each of them keenly vying for viewer's considerations. Michael Goldhaber, a Harvard Professor had stated that "The scarcest resource in the Internet economy is customer attention." In this controlled and crowded Internet world, the most important challenge for the firms is to identify how their websites can reach their potential consumers and what should the firms do in order to be graded first and catch the buyer awareness. The accurate answer for all these questions is Search Engine Marketing (SEM).

The Internet unlocks an entryway to the world of massive information. When a person needs any specific data, he/she must enter the information in the search column of search engine and he can view the results from thousands of pages. I-Cube's 2006 survey reveals that 60% of the users do not read beyond the first two pages to seek the necessary data. Hence, it is vital for a marketer to ensure that its website link is present in the first few pages itself to draw the attention of the target viewers. The Internet marketing methods used by marketers to uphold their website among millions of other websites is known as Search Engine Marketing. These methods are used to improve the visibility of websites through the medium of web search engines. If favorably executed, SEM practices allow websites to appear in the select top few in a search outcome. It is essential to make use of SEM methods appropriately. Proper usage of SEM methods boosts the return on investments of the marketers by attracting a large group of prospective consumers. Simultaneously, suboptimal usage of SEM techniques may obstruct the number of viewers to the website radically.

Advertising Express Magazine, Search Engine Marketing, SEM, Internet Economy, Search Engine Advertising, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization, SEMPO, Business Environment, Online Advertisements, Advertisement Agencies, Pay-Per-Click, PPC.