What Is SEM / Search Engine Marketing?

SEM stands for “search engine marketing.” It is the process of gaining traffic from or visibility on search engines. The phrase is also sometimes shortened to “search marketing.”

SEM is an umbrella term that covers two broad areas:

Gaining traffic through free SEO efforts
Gaining traffic through paid search advertising

Some people consider SEM to mean gaining traffic solely through paid ads. Our article, Does SEM = SEO + CPC Still Add Up?, explains this split in more depth. Here at Search Engine Land, we stick with the broader definition.