What is SEA?
Search Engine Advertising (SEA), also called paid search advertising, refers to paid ads in search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo. Unlike SEO (Search Engine Optimization), which improves organic rankings, with SEA you pay for each click on your ad (Pay-per-Click/PPC). The most well-known SEA platform is Google Ads (formerly AdWords). SEA ads appear above and below organic search results and are marked as "Sponsored." The big advantage of SEA: Immediate visibility. While SEO takes months for results, SEA campaigns can generate traffic immediately. Costs vary significantly depending on keyword competition - from a few cents to several euros per click.
Key Points
- SEA = paid, SEO = organic - both together are SEM
- Billing by CPC (Cost per Click) or CPM (Cost per Mille)
- Google Ads is the dominant platform with 90%+ market share
- Quality Score influences position and costs
- Conversion tracking is essential for ROI measurement
- Use A/B tests for ad copy and landing pages
Practical Example
“Through an SEA campaign, we could immediately appear in position 1 for "Web Design Vienna" and generate 50 qualified leads in the first month.”