Search engine marketing is the method of marketing a brand using paid ads that appear on search engine results pages. Advertisers bid on keywords that people might search for in Google and Bing when they are searching for specific products or services.

It gives the advertiser the opportunity for their ads to appear alongside results for those search queries.

These ads, often known by the term pay-per-click ads or PPC ads, come in different formats. Some examples of PPC are small, text-based ads and others like the product listing ads (Shopping ads) are more visual, product-based advertisements that enable consumers to see important information at-a-glance, like the price, availability, and reviews.
Targeting keywords explain a search platform when to present your ads. SEM targeting takes it up a notch.
By targeting, you set additional parameters for when your ad should show and who it should show to at what search result, till when.

Different types of SEM targeting includes the following:-

Location targeting – It sets ads to exclusively show to customers who reside or within a specific ZIP code or geographic territory.

Ad schedule targeting– It sets ads to exclusively show at certain times of the day or during specific days of the week.

Demographic targeting sets ads to only show people who fit certain demographic categories based on age and gender.

Device targeting sets ads to only show users on specific devices such as mobile phones, desktops, or tablets. The best advantage of doing Search engine marketing is that SEM grants advertisers the shot to showcase their ads before potential clients who are willing to buy at the precise moment they’re all set to shop. This particular advantage makes SEM one of the powerful tools of marketing.