Unlocking the Power of SEM Marketing

Search engine marketing (SEM) is the most low-effort, high-impact way to grow your business in a world that gets more crowded online by the day. Through paid ads on search engines such as Google or Bing, you can ensure targeted traffic and leads at a faster clip compared to most other digital strategies.

But what is SEM marketing, how does it work, and how can you optimize it for your business? This post will provide you with a primer on SEM marketing, actionable tips to make the most of it, and see if this effective method is suitable for you, after all.

What is SEM Marketing?

SEM marketing essentially is the practice of using paid advertisements to help you appear on SERPs.

Organic search (SEO): When you enter a keyword or phrase into a search engine like Google or Yahoo!, the organic results are displayed in the main body of the page. When your prospects search for information about your products and services, you want to rank highly in search engine results.

That’s where search engine marketing (SEM) comes into play. With search engine marketing, you pay to have your website displayed on the search engine results page when someone types in specific keywords or phrases.

These advertisements can also appear on top of organic search results, and are typically labeled as “sponsored” or “ad”. The leading SEM platforms such as Google AdWords, and Bing Ads are designed to make connections between businesses offering online products and services and the users who are searching for said products.

SEM vs SEO: What’s the Difference?

SEMs and SEOs both work to increase visibility in search engines but they do so in very different ways:

• SEM: Pay-per-click (PPC), also known as SEM which is a paid strategy in which ads are created and managed in order to appear in the search results. It’s going to produce results right now, but it does take a budget.

• SEO: An organic strategy concentrating on optimizing website content, enhancing technical performance, and generating backlinks in order to rank over time. That’s slower, albeit at much lower long-term cost.

A best practice for many businesses (especially e-commerce) is to combine SEM and SEO to achieve their search strategy.

Why SEM Marketing Matters

If you are still on the fence about whether SEM marketing is really worth it, keep in mind these benefits:

• Quick Visibility: SEO can take several months of work to get you on page one of the SERPs, while SEM gets you on page 1 nearly instantaneously.

• Highly-targeted Traffic: You are able to reach out to a particular user group of your preference thanks to the wide range of targeting features available on SEM platforms – such as keywords, demography, or location.

• Budget Control: Set your budget to daily or a monthly budget, and never spend more than you’re comfortable with.

• Measurable ROI: SEM actions generate data like impressions, clicks, and conversions that you can use for optimized steering of your campaigns.

• Higher Conversion Rates: SEM presents your products/services to users who are actively looking for them, and are more likely to convert your users into customers.

How SEM Marketing Works

Keywords Drive Your Campaigns

Keywords are the foundation of SEM marketing. When people enter a query into a search engine, algorithms determine their search intent and compare it to the keywords that advertisers have bid on. Keywords are everything in SEM.

• Short-Tail Keywords: General search terms such as “shoes” or “coffee.” Despite the high search volume they produce, these can be quite competitive and costly.

• Long-Tail Keywords: Highly-targeted keyword phrases with more specificity (i.e. women’s running shoes under $100). These will be less competitive and more intently focused.

Leverage tools like Google’s Keyword Planner and/or SEMrush to research and pick the most relevant ones for your brand.

It’s All About Ad Auctions

Search engine management AdWords, adCenter, etc. SEM is the wider discipline that incorporates SEO. SEM includes both paid search results (using tools like Google Adwords or Bing Ads, formerly known as Microsoft adCenter) and organic search results (SEO).

SEM uses paid advertising with AdWords or Bing Ads, pay per click (particularly beneficial for local providers as it enables potential consumers to contact a company directly with one click), article submissions, advertising and making sure SEO has been done. A keyword analysis is performed for both SEO and SEM, but not necessarily at the same time.

Your ad ranking is affected by:

• Bid Amount: The price you are willing to pay for a click on your ad.

• Ad Quality: The search engines reward high-quality, relevant ads with a better position (and, sometimes, lower costs).

• Landing Page Experience: This had to do with how relevant your landing page was to the searcher; how user-friendly was your landing page; did it match the ad text?

PPC: Cost Effective Solution to Marketing Costs and Control

The majority of SEM campaigns are pay-per-click (PPC), you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. This way you are spending money on potential customers, not just idle surfer.

Key SEM Marketing Tips

Smart strategy, execution, and optimization is necessary in order to maximize your investment in SEM. Here are some tried-and-true tips to help you win:

Craft Compelling Ad Copy

Your ad copy is like a first date. Employ these principles for ads that get attention:

• Be clear and concise

• Emphasize Unique Selling Points (USPs) such as free shipping, discounts or exclusive privileges

• Add a compelling call-to-action (CTA), such as “Shop Now,” “Learn More,” or “Sign Up Today.”

Design Landing Pages That Convert

A strong ad is half the battle: your landing page must follow through on the promise your ad made. Follow these best practices:

• Make your landing page content relevant to the ad’s topic

• Keep the design crisp and mobile-optimized

• Feature a strong CTA to push your visitor towards conversion

Leverage Negative Keywords

Only a fraction of the searches for your keywords are relevant to your business. You can use negative keywords to filter out irrelevant queries and prevent wasting your ad spend.

Example: if you’re selling luxury wristwatches, you may want to negate “cheap watches.”

Maximize Campaigns with A/B Testing

It’s a valuable exercise to consistently test the performance of your SEM by experimenting with other variables such as:

• Headline variations

• Ad copy

• Display URLs

• CTA buttons

Conduct A/B tests to find the winning combinations that will increase your click-through and conversion rates.

Monitor and Adjust Regularly

The internet is forever evolving, and so should your SEM campaigns. Track and analyze your CPC, CTR and conversion rate, looking for ways to optimize these numbers.

As is the case with any marketing efforts, regular fine-tuning is the key to keep your campaigns doing what they were made to do: generate results and save you money.

Measuring SEM Success

The unique benefit of SEM marketing is its ability to be measured. For those who do choose to use those platforms, here are the key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure your campaign’s success:

• Conversions: People who have taken whatever action you were calling out in the first set of metrics (e.g., purchase, sign-up)

• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): How much money is earned for every dollar spent

• Rating Score: Google’s assessment of the relevance of your ad, multiplied by its landing page experience

• Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): The expense associated to acquire a single customer

Are SEM Services the Best Option for My Business?

Under the right circumstances, SEM marketing results can be extraordinary, but it is not necessarily for everyone. Consider the following:

• If your industry is highly competitive, bid on a keyword can be expensive

• Success with SEM on tight budgets is all about thinking your campaigns through and optimizing

• If your business is in need of fast results, then SEM is a faster approach than SEO

• For the majority of companies, an SEM and SEO approach is going to help the most to grow that online presence over time

Next Step in SEM Marketing

SEM is a game-changer for companies looking to build brand awareness and generate results on a fast timeline. Once you understand how SEM works and take the actionable steps laid out for you here, you too can get things done with it.

Ready to rev up your SEM campaign? Get in touch with an SEM specialist today and get the targeted traffic your business needs!