SEM, or search engine marketing, is the practice of marketing your business through paid advertisements on search engines like Google and Bing.
There are two primary ways to do SEM. The first is by paying to have your website advertised when people search for keywords related to your business. The second is by paying to have ads placed on search engine sites and platforms.
Both of these actions can lead to traffic to your website, where you can then make sales or cultivate leads. Given the high volume of searches per day, including mobile searches, there is a high chance that someone will see your ad and visit your site!
With so many opportunities for people to find your website, it is important to track the success of your SEM efforts.
Who should use search engine marketing?
Any business can use search engine marketing. Any business can create an online presence, where they can advertise their products and services to potential customers.
Thanks to Google, all businesses can market their business on the world’s largest search engine. With Google Adwords, businesses of any size and industry can promote their products and services online.
Small businesses may have more success with paid advertising than larger companies, though. Big companies usually have large marketing budgets, so the prices for Adwords may be out of their reach.
Individuals can also use search engine marketing to market themselves. Many people now have a personal brand that they build up online. By using ad campaigns, they can direct people to their personal website or social media accounts.
What are the benefits of search engine marketing?
SEM is a marketing tactic that allows you to showcase your business, services, or products to prospective customers searching for related keywords and phrases in search engines.
Thanks to the growing importance of search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo! it has become increasingly important to invest in SEM.
Ads are provided by the search engine itself or through its paid advertising platform. Depending on the campaign you run, you can select how long it runs for and how much you want to spend per click.
SEM can be very effective as it targets people who are already interested in your business or service. It also provides concrete numbers regarding how many people have visited your site as a result of the ad.
Who are your competitors?
Knowing your competitors is important for any area of marketing. In SEM, knowing who your competitors are and what they are spending can help you figure out what strategies to use and how much to spend.
Having a list of keywords or phrases where your website comes up on top of search results is a great way to gain traffic to your site. However, this can be very costly if you do not know what others are paying to get this exposure.
Checking out other sites in your industry and comparing their traffic numbers may give you some insight into what Google deems worthy of top spots, however.
Some things Google looks for when determining which sites get top spots include whether the site has high-quality content, whether it has strong social media presence, and whether it regularly updates its content. These factors may cost you money to achieve, but maybe only cost you time to achieve them.
What keywords should I target?
Keywords are the words you target your ads to. Keywords are what people type into Google or Bing search to find something or someone.
For example, if you were a dentist, your ads might target the keywords “dentist in New York” or “dentists in Brooklyn.” This is because most people who are looking for a new dentist are looking for one near them or in their area.
As mentioned before, having too many keywords can get you disqualified by the ad platforms. So, it is important to not overload yourself with too many keywords. Just pick a few general ones and get started!
As we just discussed, targeting broad keywords like “dentist” or “cheap glasses” will not get you very many clicks. Instead, target more specific keywords like “kids glasses Brooklyn” or “Fashionable Brooklyn glasses.
How much will this cost me?
Unfortunately, SEM pricing is very subjective. Factors such as the number of keywords you want to target, the geographic location of your targets, and the content of your ad can all influence price.
Our team of SEM professionals at Full Stack Marketing Consultants use programs called keyword tools to find search terms people are using to find products or services like yours. They then divide these searches into categories based on the cost of advertising on them.
The cost of advertising on a higher-paying category will influence the overall SEM cost. For example, if you want to target nationwide audiences, this will cost more than targeting a local audience.
What strategies should I use?
SEM campaigns can be set up with a few key strategies in mind. Our SEM campaign experts identify keywords that are long-tail keywords, in order for your ads to rank better against the competition.
These are words that describe the product or service exactly as the consumer would search for it. For example, if you were an attorney, you would not put the word lawyer in your ads, but rather what kind of law you specialize in.
Since these are very specific keywords, your ads will show only to people looking for that exact item. This reduces the amount of competitors you have and raises your chances of getting a click.
Another strategy is to set up your campaign to work across several different platforms. Google Adwords, Yahoo!, and Bing all have their own advertising platforms.
What are rich snippets?
Rich snippets are a feature that Google has been rolling out to give users more information right off the bat. When a user searches for a specific item or topic, Google shows a list of results.
Along with this list, Google displays various details about the pages it returns, including ratings, reviews, price range, and other information. This is the rich snippet feature.
Rich snippets can be in the form of ratings, reviews, prices, calls to action, business listings, and more. All of these add additional information about what is listed in the search result.
The main purpose of rich snippets is to make search results more informative and helpful for users. By showing ratings, reviews, and calls to action on page links, users get an idea of what page is best for what they want.
Rich snippets can help with your SEO strategy by boosting your site’s visibility. When sites that have good content and are well-ranked have calls to action on their pages, this adds credibility to their site.
Does search engine marketing work?
Search engine marketing is a very effective way to market your business and utilizes paid media. It is not a waste of money, as some may argue. With the right strategies and professionals, you will see results!
With Google being one of the most used search engines, it makes sense to invest in ads with them. They have a program called AdWords where you pay each time someone clicks on your ad and goes to your website or phone number.
This is very effective because people are searching for what you offer so they are likely to click on the ad. The cost depends on what you are advertising for and how many people click on it. In addition to the above PPC (pay per click), Google offers display ads (viewable impressions), video ads, shopping ads, and more. And lets not forget social media paid advertising. The best value for your business is to advertise where your target audience frequently visits. One platform is never enough to reach your audience, especially if your business is in the Business to Consumer (B2C) or Direct to Consumer (DTC) space.
By investing in SEM, you are promoting your business effectively and bringing in new clients and revenue. What’s even better? Clients who find you through SEM stay clients! Because they found you through an ad that appealed to them, they continue to use your services.
Full Stack Marketing Consultants is an award winning Google Partner. Take advantage of our free consultation. We are happy to discuss our successes and how we can help you achieve your goals. And we do so without making false or unrealistic promises. If you are not successful, than neither are we.
