One of the common ways in which SEM is done is by search engine optimization of the web site. This is mainly done by the right placement of keywords in the web content and by adding keywords within description tags that wouldmake search engines favorably disposed towards it.

Another way in which Search Engine Marketing is managed is by contextual advertising. Here marketers place ads on other sites or portals that carry information relevant to their products so that the ads jump into the circle of vision of browsers who are seeking information from those sites. The ads are generally banner ads or text ads and often appear aspop-up ads. Google was the first one to start Search Engine Marketing by contextual advertising but now other networks and search engines have also joined the fray. It is a very effective SEM method for taking products and services to target audience.

Yet another Search Engine Marketing tool is pay per click advertising or PPC. With PPC, when a search query is made with a word or phrase, which is the same or is close to a web site's keyword, the site will display an advertisement along with the search engine results. These ads are known as sponsored links and are displayed either on the side or above the search engine results. As the name implies, in this method of Search Engine Marketing, payment has to be made only if someone clicks on the ad. The charges for these SEM ads are different on different search engines. The popularity of the keyword will also influence the cost of the ad.

In an effort to continuously improve the discipline of Search Engine Marketing, Google is adding new features to its Suggest Tool. As of now, Google makes suggestions only when surfers are keying in search queries from the search engine's homepage . This is being modified to include suggestions even when additional searches are being made from the results page. As the biggest boost for SEM will be the presence of sponsored links among the suggestions. Another sign of the increasing power of SEM is the increasing spending in the field. The year 2008 saw 750% increase in the money spent on Search Engine Marketing.