Search engines have become an integral part of our daily lives, shaping the way we discover and consume information. As businesses strive to stay ahead of the curve, harnessing the power of search engine marketing (SEM) has emerged as a critical component of a successful online strategy. SEM, a term often used interchangeably with paid search marketing, is a potent tool that enables businesses to ensure their products or services are prominently displayed on search engine results pages (SERPs) when potential customers enter relevant queries.
The Significance of Search Engine Marketing
With a staggering 49% of shoppers relying on Google to uncover new products, the importance of having your business's offerings appear at the top of SERPs cannot be overstated. While organic search engine optimization (SEO) strategies are crucial for long-term success, the reality is that sometimes, organic rankings alone may not be sufficient to outshine competitors who are investing in paid advertising. This is where SEM comes into play, allowing businesses to bridge the gap and secure prime real estate on SERPs.
Understanding Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
SEM is the process of utilizing paid advertising to ensure that your business's products or services are visible on SERPs when users enter specific search queries. It is an umbrella term that encompasses all forms of search engine marketing, but it is primarily associated with paid search marketing efforts. While SEO focuses on organic marketing strategies, SEM leverages paid advertising to boost visibility and drive targeted traffic to your website.
How SEO and SEM Work Together
While SEO and SEM serve distinct functions, they are complementary strategies that should work in tandem to achieve optimal results. SEO enables your content to appear in organic search results based on Google's analysis of its relevance to search queries. However, there may be instances where the organic search results are too competitive for your website to rank effectively. In such cases, SEM can fill the gaps and ensure your offerings are prominently displayed on SERPs.
Compelling SEM Statistics
The numbers speak volumes about the potential of SEM. According to SEMrush, over 70% of shoppers make online purchases using their mobile devices, underscoring the importance of catering to this growing segment.
Furthermore, more Google searches now occur on mobile devices than on desktops, as reported by Smart Insights. Statista reveals that approximately 40% of ad spending in the US is dedicated to search advertisements, highlighting the significant investment businesses are making in this area.
The Ad Auction Process
To leverage SEM effectively, businesses must participate in an ad auction. While various search engines offer ad auctions, this article will focus on the process within Google Ads (formerly known as Google AdWords). Every Google ad you see undergoes an ad auction before appearing on SERPs. To enter the auction, you must identify the keywords you want to bid on and specify the maximum amount you're willing to spend per click for each keyword.
Once Google determines that the keywords you've bid on are contained within a user's search query, you're entered into the ad auction. However, not all ads will appear for every search related to those keywords, as some queries may not have sufficient commercial intent to warrant incorporating ads.
Quality Score: The Determining Factor
Even if your keyword is a good fit for an ad, it doesn't guarantee that your ad will "win" the bidding. The ad auction considers two main factors when determining which ads to place on the SERP: your maximum bid and your ad's Quality Score. Your Quality Score estimates the relevance and quality of your ads, keywords, and landing pages, and it is reported on a 1-10 scale in your Google Ads account.
The more relevant your ad is to a user, and the more likely a user is to click through and have an enjoyable landing page experience, the higher your overall Quality Score will be. Prioritizing a high Quality Score should be a top priority in your SEM strategy, as it directly impacts your ad's placement and cost-effectiveness.
Crafting an Effective SEM Strategy
Developing a comprehensive SEM strategy involves optimizing paid search ads with specific goals in mind. To create an effective strategy, you must understand how paid ad platforms work and effectively manage variables that affect performance, such as keywords, budget, and copy. Here are some key factors to consider:
Keyword Intent
Choosing the right keywords to bid on is the foundation of a successful PPC (pay-per-click) strategy. Start by brainstorming brand terms, terms that describe your product, and even terms that describe your competition. Understanding the user's intent behind a keyword is crucial, as it will guide your bidding strategy.
Keywords with high buying intent typically have a higher cost-per-click but can offer a better return on investment (ROI). If you have a small budget, focus on keywords with buying intent, but if you have a larger budget, you may have room to bid on keywords targeting earlier stages of the buyer's journey or even terms loosely related to your products.
Target Audience
When viewers click on your paid ad, they should feel an instant resonance with the content. Designing ads that match the needs of your target audience is essential. Successfully targeting your audience in SEM goes beyond just matching keywords: it's about creating a narrative that speaks directly to the viewer's needs and aspirations. An ad that resonates on a personal level is more likely to engage and convert, as it reflects a deep understanding of where the potential customer is in their journey.
Keyword Volume and Competition
If no one is searching for your target keywords, your ads won't yield any results. Conversely, keywords with extremely high volume attract more competition and may lose relevance. When conducting keyword research, relevant high-volume and low-competition keywords are a sweet spot, but they may be challenging to find.
It becomes a balancing act between demand (volume) and budget (competition). If you're new to SEM, start with a modest budget and focus on long-tail keywords that are less competitive but still relevant to your business. As you gain more experience and data, you can increase your budget and target more competitive keywords.
Keyword Cost
Ad placement is determined by the bid you specify for the keyword and the quality score Google has assigned your ad. Higher bids and higher-quality ads win the best placement. With this in mind, high-competition keywords tend to be more expensive. However, bidding too low means your ad may not be shown, so you'll want to ensure that you can be competitive based on the level of competition for the keyword.
Account and Campaign Structure
Theoretically, you could lump all of your keywords together in a single bucket and display one ad for the aggregate lot. However, your budget would be quickly drained by a handful of high-volume keywords, and your quality score would decrease.
That's why structuring your Google Ads account properly is crucial. Your account structure not only makes your account easier to manage but also allows for more targeted ad copy and landing pages, which can improve your Quality Score and lower your cost-per-click.
There are several levels for organizing your Google Ads campaigns:
Ad: The copy that's displayed for the keywords you've chosen.
Keywords: The queries you're bidding on.
Ad group: Sets of like keywords grouped by theme.
Campaign: The highest level for managing ad groups.
At each level, you can determine what's working and what's not, making you more informed about performance and how your money is being spent.
Copy
Once your keywords are chosen and your account is structured, you still need to write compelling ads that "earn" the click. An ad is typically composed of a title, display URL, and description. Understand precisely what the searchers are looking for with their queries, and craft an ad that makes your offer attractive.
Keep in mind that SEM isn't a set-it-and-forget-it activity. Ongoing PPC management helps you eliminate budget waste, experiment with ads, and optimize the keywords you're bidding on to ensure you get the most ROI from your efforts.
Landing Page Conversion
Ads will bring users to your webpage, but if zero percent of those users convert, you won't move the needle on any of your digital marketing goals. Factors like load speeds, user interface, and value proposition impact the conversion rate of your landing page. Test and tweak both the copy and visuals on your landing page to keep improving your conversion rate.
Analytics and Reporting
Are viewers being compelled to make a purchase, join your email list, or start a free trial when they visit your ad landing page? If not, it's time to make changes. SEM isn't static; trends change, consumer behaviors shift, and algorithms get updated. Consistent tracking and optimization are your keys to adapting successfully to these changes.
With well-defined objectives and a nuanced understanding of ad extensions, you can develop a robust, adaptable SEM campaign that not just meets but exceeds your goals. Search visibility alone won't achieve all of your marketing goals. The businesses that engage with the data and continuously evaluate and react accordingly are the ones that experience long-term success with SEM.
Essential SEM Tools
To make search engine marketing work for you in the long term, you need a robust toolkit to streamline your efforts and gain valuable insights. Here are some essential SEM tools to consider:
1. HubSpot's Ad Tracking Software
The HubSpot Ads tool helps you go beyond traffic and click metrics to analyze precisely how ads are influencing contacts and where they are in the buyer's journey. This will help you understand which ads are working, justify SEM as a channel, and integrate your advertising with the rest of your marketing efforts.
2. SEMrush
SEMrush is a comprehensive tool that allows you to conduct extensive keyword research, keyword rank tracking, site audits, traffic analysis, and more. While it's fantastic for finding opportunities to rank for long-tail keywords organically, you can also use SEMrush for various SEM efforts. For example, you can determine where your competitors are concentrating their marketing efforts, analyze their regional presence, discover your main paid search competitors, and study the composition of their ads. This information is vital when cultivating your own paid strategy and trying to outrank other businesses on SERPs.
3. Google Trends
Google Trends allows you to track the search volume for a particular keyword across a specific region, language, or time frame, enabling you to identify which search terms are trending and which aren't. Since you don't want to put money behind a decreasing popularity keyword, this is a handy tool for your SEM efforts. Additionally, gauging interest in your product or service in a certain geographical area can be powerful for tailoring your paid efforts to specific locations, saving you money in the long run.
One of the most helpful features of Keywordtool.io is its ability to tap into various channels like Google, Bing, YouTube, Amazon, Instagram, and app stores, allowing you to segment your keyword research and better target your efforts. The tool takes your base keyword and provides variations of words and phrases, enabling you to cultivate a more extensive list of possible keywords you might want to include in a paid ad. Using Google Autocomplete to provide relevant keywords, the free version of Keywordtool.io lets you generate up to 750 long-tail keywords and keyword suggestions for every search term. Additionally, you can use the tool to analyze search trends on Google to ensure your desired keywords are increasing in popularity and will continue to serve you well over the long term.
5. Google Ads Keyword Planner
Use the Google Ads Keyword Planner to research relevant keywords for your business and keep track of how searches for certain keywords change over time. The Keyword Planner will help you narrow down a list of possible keywords to ensure you choose the most effective ones for your business. Additionally, it will provide suggested bid estimates for each keyword to determine which keywords work with your advertising budget. Once you've found your ideal keywords and are ready to launch an ad campaign, you can do it all from within the tool.
6. SpyFu
Ever wish you could see which keywords your competitors are buying on Google or check out which ad tests they've run? With SpyFu, you can simply search a domain, and you'll see every keyword that a business has bought on Google Ads, every organic keyword for which they've ranked, and every ad variation they've had in the last 12 years.
7. WordStream
WordStream is an advertising management solution that can help you research, measure, and optimize your ads for performance. You get access to advanced reporting features for data analysis and tools for creating great ads. Additionally, WordStream has alerts and workflow tools to help you make informed decisions about your campaigns.
Conclusion
In the ever-evolving digital landscape, search engine marketing presents a powerful opportunity for businesses to reach new customers and drive growth. By leveraging the right tools, crafting a well-rounded strategy, and continuously optimizing your efforts, you can harness the full potential of SEM and stay ahead of the competition. With a commitment to ongoing learning and adaptation, SEM can be a pivotal puzzle piece in your online marketing strategy, propelling your business towards success in the digital realm.