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SEM - search engine marketing?

i have an interview tomorrow and need a crash course on SEM. what is it, what is it used for? what are some tools associted with it? any information is well appreciated.

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SEM is "Search Engine Marketing." It includes both SEO (search engine optimization) and PPC Search (pay-per-click advertising). There are many, many great web resources available, as well as some great books. Google itself has some great resources, but it has many secrets that you must learn elsewhere. SEM is really not something you learn by reading about -- you pretty much MUST learn by actually doing it (optimizing a web site for search indexing, or running a pay-per-click campaign on Google AdWords or elsewhere). For PPC Search, I generally don't use many "tools" apart from Google's AdWords Editor, and its Keyword Tool, but there are HUNDREDS of software packages designed to manage bidding and keywords and ad variations, and analyze results. For SEO, there are many "tools" offered for sale, but I absolutely believe that SEO starts as a "mindset" or "attitude," and that the attitude must always be, "design a web site to be useful to humans." I avoid "SEO tricks" that might work this month, but which might result in penalties once Google realizes that the trick doesn't reflect genuine relevance or usefulness to consumers. I hope you're not planning to try to "fake it" and pretend you have knowledge and experience that you lack. SEM is a complex field and requires incredible attention to detail and analytical skill.
There is a LOT to know! First off, make sure you are familiar with SEO (search Engine Optimization). There are many different ways to market websites nowadays, or to try and increase its ranking on Google. Some are Pay Per Click ads (ppc). Those are the listings that come up on the side of Google's search results...they are paid for, and people place bids on how much they are willing to pay per click. The more you will pay, the higher you will come up and the more often. Other ways are paying bloggers to promote your site, and place links to your site. To really optimize a site, you need to be bale to build links (from all over the web) that will all direct back to that one site. Google explains this at counting the number of votes for your site on the Internet. They count every link out there as a vote, and if it is from a big trusted site they will counted as a Big Vote!..The more votes for your site, the higher you will rank! GOOD LUCK..there is SO much to learn about this ever changing topic! http://www.knopman.com
I agree with Mark and Liza. SEM is a very hands-on kind of thing. It doesn't sound like you're trying to SEO a site or start a PPC campaingn, just looking for a way to sound like you know what you're talking about during your interview. Here are two links. Click on the any of the highlighted words for definitions. Hope it helps. http://www.advertise-ology101.com/ppc-advertising.html http://www.advertise-ology101.com/search-engine-optimization.html