Search engine marketing: a term used broadly for search marketing, or more narrowly for paid search advertising.
A practical example
A project brief should state whether its SEM budget includes paid campaigns, organic search work or both.
What to watch for
Agree the meaning before comparing proposals. Channel labels do not specify deliverables, measurement or accountability.
Related reading
Explore Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC). Try our break-even ROAS calculator for a practical next step. See how this fits into Paid advertising.