When someone users a search engine (SE) to look for information or something to buy, they type in words into the search form and up comes a list of sites and descriptions. There may one, two or literally hundreds of pages of these listings, known as search engine ranking pages (SERPs). There are paid results and free results.

In most cases, running an effective search engine marketing effort means having your listing appear at the top of the organic results, which appear on the left-hand side of the pages of the major search engines. However, it may be just as beneficial to have your ad appear in the first few listings in the paid results too. These appear on the right hand side of the pages of the major search engines. At the very least you want to be on the first page of results. And that, in a nutshell, is one of the major aims of search engine marketing.

As indicated, search engine marketing can be divided into two main types: search engine optimization and paid advertising (both "pay-per-click" advertising and "pay-per-impression advertising"), both of which involve some similar, and some very different, strategies for getting cost-effective results. Search engine optimization or "SEO" involves taking specific steps to get the search engines to rank your website as highly as possible in the organic SERPs. Many believe SEO to be both an art and a science. It's a science because the search engines use mathematical algorithms to work out where to rank various websites... it's an art because the search engines keep those algorithms hidden from public knowledge, which means that any "scientific" approach has an element of "art" to it.

Accomplishing a superior listing in the paid results is much more straightforward. For most SEs, the more you're willing to pay, the higher your listing. Having said that, Google's formula for determining the order of the results in its paid listings - known as Google Adwords - also incorporates your click through rate. The more people click on your listing, the higher the click through rate, which in turn, raises your place in the order. Another thing to keep in mind is that you can pay every time someone clicks on your listing or pay on the basis of how many times your ad is displayed.

Buying paid listings is a great way to test product and service offers. That's why many people advocate that you master PPC before concentrating on optimizing your organic listings. However, there is also an art and science to running an effective pay-per-click campaign. Choosing the right keywords, writing effective ad copy, and having an effective bidding strategy are all essential to pay-per-click success. And don't forget, just like any form of advertising, you want to make sure that you end up with a positive return on your investment. It's one thing to get a lot of clicks... it's another thing to get clicks that convert into sales.

Some Internet marketers believe SEM is difficult or "technical". But, in reality, becoming adept at SEM is largely a matter of learning the various strategies, testing different approaches, and putting in some work. The reward - lots of traffic and customers - certainly justifies the effort!