Paid search marketing is an easy way to get website visitors. If you advertise your website through SEM, you pay search engines to list your website for particular keywords. When someone searches for that keyword, the search engine will show your ad. You only pay when someone clicks your ad.

The biggest advantage of SEM is that you can get listed for any keyword, as long as you have enough money. The biggest disadvantage of SEM is that is costs a lot of money. If you pay for the wrong keywords, you will lose a lot of money.

The main SEM providers are Google AdWords and Bing Ads. Google's revenue mainly comes from SEM.

Search engine optimization refers to all activities performed to improve the rankings of your web pages in the organic (unpaid) search results.

SEO includes on-page optimization (optimizing the contents of the pages on your website) and off-site optimization (optimizing the links that point to your website).

SEO makes sure that search engines can understand the information on your website. If search engines think that your website is relevant to a particular search query, they will show your website as a result for that search query. SEO helps you to show search engines that your website is relevant to these search queries.

The biggest advantage of SEO is that you do not have to pay for any clicks. In addition, organic listings usually get many more visitors than the ads that search engines show for a keyword. The biggest disadvantage of SEO is that it takes longer to get listed in the organic search results.

Both SEM and SEO will help you get your website in front of potential customers. In general, it is best to use both methods:

1. Start with SEM to find the keywords that deliver the best return-on-investment.

Paid search marketing is a good way to find the keywords that work best for your business. Eliminate the keywords that will only cost you money and concentrate on the keywords that deliver new customers to your site.

2. Optimize your web pages for these high-performing keywords

When you know the keywords that work best for your company, use SEO to optimize the pages of your website for these keywords. If your website is listed in the organic results, you will get many more visitors for a fraction of the cost.

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"It looks like Google is starting to roll out the new desktop search interface we saw them testing a month or so ago. It might be Google just bumping up the people who see the test, but I am now even able to replicate it across several browsers, with the exception of Safari."

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As shoppers buy during a wider range of times and places, retailers are trying different strategies to reach them, which may include advertising earlier to stay out of the fray; embracing broader 'Cyber Week' promotions to maximize share of wallet; and using social, search, and other digital channels to supplement mass media campaigns with more targeted and timely messages."