In the world we live in today, there's a constant demand for goods and services, which means there is also constant marketing. Everyone can agree that marketing is a core part of business, and as such, it is no surprise that it has digital versions of it. One of those ways business owners and project managers get their products out is through PPC. These things easily turn leads into paying customers quickly, which is why it has grown in popularity. Keep reading if you want to know more.

Our Guide To What PPC Does

PPC means pay-per-click, and it is a form of virtual marketing that allows advertisers to pay a fee each time an ad of theirs is clicked. The gist is that you only get to pay for advertising if your ad is clicked on. It is a method of 'buying' visits to your site, a welcome addition to driving website visits organically. In addition, this online advertising model gives you the privilege of displaying your ads in the sponsored results section of the search engine's results page.

What Pay Per Click Does

PPC ads vary in their forms, but one of the most frequently used ones is the paid search ad. They are those that show up when you use a search engine like Google to search for anything online. This even works better when you make commercial searches, i.e., look for goods to purchase. It could also be services from a local vendor (perhaps you have a leaking faucet, and a plumber is needed). Such a search would trigger many pay-per-click ads already waiting to be deployed. Luckily for you, should you decide to run a PPC ad, you don't have to worry about your ad getting less airtime in comparison to your competitors because ads are subject to what is known as the Ad Auction. The auction is an automated process that major search engines use to ascertain the relevance and validity of advertisements that appear on their SERPs.

Are SEM and PPC The Same Thing?

Since you already know what a PPC is and how it works, let's talk about SEM, which stands for 'Search Engine Marketing.' SEM is a blanket term used for any kind of activity to improve the ease at which any user can locate a specific website using a search engine. Like PPC, SEM is an important form of online marketing geared towards spreading awareness of any website or business in the search engine result pages (SERPs). This helps draw more attention from people, giving the website or business more potential to attract customers.

So how are they different?

The main difference between the two marketing tools is that SEM utilizes various tools, e.g., SEO, which uses appropriate keywords frequently searched on search engines to customize a website's content. Another fundamental difference between SEM and PPC is the crowds they pull. SEM is fundamentally an organic marketing strategy, while PPC is a paid marketing strategy. This means that SEM draws traffic to your website naturally while PPC attracts traffic as long as you keep paying to boost the visibility of your business online. To that end, it is widely believed that PPC will easily and quickly attract more potential customers than SEM. However, that will only continue as long as the ads are being displayed, while SEM will bring organic traffic that will last longer to the website. Both tools are pretty effective in the long run because your business will undoubtedly gain more coverage.