What are Good Search Enging Marketing Rates?

There are so many Search Marketing firms starting up, and the pricing structure varies greatly, making it very difficult to understand what you are getting for your money.  So companies can do SEM for about $20/month, where others are charging $2,000/month.  What is going on here?  What is the big difference? Why are the rates so different?  Well, the easiest answer is, Results.  The more you pay typically means the better results you are getting. Remember, the most important aspect of SEM, or paying for website traffic, is that you need to make sure you are paying for traffic that is highly related to the products or services that you provide.  The last thing you want to have happen, is paying someone to drive traffic to your site, with customers who are not ready to make a purchase, or not interested in what you are providing.  When choosing a SEM firm make sure you have a clear understanding of what you are getting for your money.   Obviously, the $20/month deal isn't going to do anything to maintain your account, and typically they are going to bid on about 20-30 keywords.  On the other end of the spectrum, the $2,000/month deal is going, or should give you everything you need, from all keywords related to your website, to managing your ad copy on a weekly basis.  And that is crucial, Adcopy.  It's very importan that ad copy is changed at least twice a month.  These ads often grow stale, and arn't as appealing is they are displayed for a period longer than 90 days.