subject: The ins and outs of Search Engine Marketing [print this page] The ins and outs of Search Engine Marketing
Search engine marketing, or SEM, is a very hot topic in marketing circles. Some see it as something of a black art, while others think they have it down to a science. Oddly enough, no one really knows how to effectively craft web page copy in order for it to influence Google searches. (Google knows how its keyword algorithm works, of course, but they're not talking.)
What you can do, however, is enter what are known as "targeted" keywords into Google's search engine and see which sites get top billing. Then, you can look at those sites and find out which keywords are triggering Google's response and use that information accordingly.
Another thing you can try is pay per click, or PPC, in which you contract with Google for certain keywords in certain geographic areas. Every time someone clicks on one of the keywords you have contracted for, your company is required to pay Google a fee.
The tricky part of SEM is structuring your company's website in order for Google to notice. Search engine spiders, also known as bots, are constantly crawling over the web, looking for instances of any and all words and analyzing searches to determine which are most appropriate or best fit the criteria. It can be very awkward to try and write web copy that is at once intelligible as well as SEM savvy.This challenge faces marketers on a daily basis because the internet never stands still.
Everywhere and everyone, it seems, is trying to optimize their sites from an SEM standpoint all over the world 24/7. So, while you are trying to work the Google system, so is everyone else. Add to this the fact that Google is constantly revising and improving its search system, and it becomes a vicious cycle. Which keeps everyone in business especially the SEO Company which is behind the maipulation and taking money for their service.
