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Swayam IIMB AI in Digital and Social Media Marketing – Week 3 Assessment Answers

📚 Week 3 Assessment – Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Due date: 14th September 2025, 23:59 IST
Status: Assignment not submitted

This week’s assessment focuses on Search Engine Marketing (SEM), pricing models, ad types, and remarketing strategies. Below are the questions, answers, and explanations to guide your learning.

Q1. Which statement best describes Search Engine Marketing (SEM)?

  • Optimizing a website to rank organically in search results

  • ✅ Running paid advertisements on search platforms to appear at the top of results

  • Building social media presence through free posts.

  • Sending email newsletters to potential customers

Explanation:
SEM refers to paid marketing on search engines (Google Ads, Bing Ads, etc.), where businesses bid to appear at the top of search results. SEO, by contrast, is organic optimization.

Q2. How does SEM generally differ from SEO in terms of result speed?

  • SEM results are typically slower to appear than SEO results

  • Both SEM and SEO provide instant results

  • ✅ SEM works instantly, while SEO takes time to show results

  • SEO is faster, but SEM is more cost-effective

Explanation:
SEM campaigns can start showing immediate results as soon as ads go live. SEO, however, requires consistent optimization over time before ranking improves.

Q3. What is the primary difference between a browser and a search engine?

  • A browser is used for gaming, and a search engine is for video streaming

  • They are interchangeable terms for the same technology

  • ✅ A browser is software to access the internet, while a search engine is a tool used within a browser to find information

  • A browser is for displaying ads, and a search engine is for creating them

Explanation:
A browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox) lets you access the web, while a search engine (Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo) helps you find information on the web.

Q4. What additional factor, besides the bid amount, does a search platform consider for ad placement in an auction?

  • ✅ The “Quality Score,” which measures ad usefulness, relevance, and trustworthiness

  • The advertiser’s social media follower count

  • The age of the advertising account

  • The number of products sold by the advertiser

Explanation:
Google Ads and similar platforms use Quality Score + Bid Amount to determine ad rank. A high Quality Score reduces costs and improves placement.

Q5. Which pricing model means you only pay when someone actually clicks on your advertisement?

  • Cost Per Mille (CPM)

  • Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)

  • ✅ Cost Per Click (CPC)

  • Cost Per Day (CPD)

Explanation:
CPC is the most common pricing model in SEM. Advertisers pay only when users click their ads, making it performance-driven.

Q6. What is the primary goal when using the Cost Per Mille (CPM) pricing model?

  • Driving direct sales

  • ✅ Maximizing brand visibility

  • Generating website clicks

  • Acquiring new sign-ups

Explanation:
CPM means Cost per 1000 impressions. The focus is visibility and awareness, not clicks or conversions.

Q7. If your goal is to pay only when a user completes a specific action, like making a purchase, which pricing model would you choose?

  • Cost Per Click (CPC)

  • Cost Per Mille (CPM)

  • Cost Per Day (CPD)

  • ✅ Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)

Explanation:
CPA ensures advertisers pay only when a specific conversion event happens (purchase, sign-up, download). It’s highly ROI-focused.

Q8. What are “Display Ads” commonly known as?

  • Text-only advertisements on search results pages

  • Short video clips played before online content

  • ✅ Colorful banner advertisements seen on various websites

  • Sponsored posts within social media feeds

Explanation:
Display ads are usually image or banner-based ads shown across websites in the Google Display Network or other ad networks.

Q9. Which type of ad is specifically designed to encourage users to install an application?

  • ✅ App Promotion Ads

  • Search Ads

  • Remarketing Ads

  • Discovery Ads

Explanation:
App Promotion Ads are tailored to increase app downloads and engagement, showing up in app stores, search, or display networks.

Q10. What is the main purpose of “Remarketing” or “Retargeting Ads”?

  • To introduce a product to entirely new audiences

  • ✅ To target people who have previously visited a website or app but didn’t complete an action

  • To promote products through influencer collaborations

  • To display ads based on a user’s geographical location only

Explanation:
Remarketing focuses on re-engaging past visitors — for example, showing ads to someone who browsed products but didn’t complete checkout.

✅ Final Notes

This Week 3 assessment emphasizes SEM fundamentals, including:

  • Differences between SEM and SEO

  • Ad auctions & Quality Score

  • Pricing models (CPC, CPM, CPA)

  • Types of ads (Display, App Promotion, Remarketing)

👉 Mastering these will help you run cost-effective, high-performing ad campaigns on platforms like Google Ads.