Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is internet marketing that involves promoting websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results, primarily through paid advertising. This ranks your website by paid results, popping up at the top of search results when looked up online. SEM is one of the most effective ways to grow your business and reach new customers in a short amount of time.
How Does SEM Work?
Search engines use algorithms to ensure that the most relevant results are present for each search using keywords. In SEM, or paid advertising, sponsored ads appear at the top and on the sides of the search engine results page (SERP) to gain more visibility.
Let’s say you’re looking for a marketing company. You head to Google and type in your search terms (also known as keywords). The search engine will show you various company ads whose keywords match those you searched for, which makes it likely that you will click on those links.
Why is SEM Important?
With the number of consumers and customers researching and shopping for the newest thing, search engine marketing has become crucial for increasing a company’s reach. The majority of new visitors to websites are from online searches. SEM results are immediate and the fastest way to drive users to your website.
Types of SEM Campaigns
When you search for something on Google (or another search engine), a SERP (Search Engine Results Page) shows organic and paid ads results. You can advertise your business on the web in different ways, and they should be based on your goals and overall digital marketing strategy.
–Search Ads are text-based ads that appear at the top or bottom of a search engine results page
–Display Ads are image-based ads that will capture browsers’ attention while visiting other sites and apps.
–Video Ads appear at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of videos on YouTube. Think of commercials as those intended to increase awareness.
–Local Service Ads will always appear at the top of search engine result pages for local businesses that are relevant to the keywords that were searched. You will find the business name, phone number, address, hours of operation, and more.
–App Ads are designed to promote your business across Google. This is a great way to find new app users.
Overall, businesses can use SEM campaign types to reach their target audience at any given time.
SEM Statistics
Let’s look at the numbers when it comes to search engine marketing.
- Search engines are used by 81% of internet searchers.
- 40% of search engine use is from a desktop.
- 30% of pages that show on the first page of a desktop computer do not appear in the top 10 results on a mobile search engine.
SEM Keywords Research
Before choosing keywords to use in your search engine marketing campaigns, you need to do research as part of your strategy for finding keywords. First, you need to find keywords that are relevant to your business and that customers are likely to use when searching for what you have to offer. By using the Free Keyword Tool, you can enter a keyword relevant to your business and see suggested related keywords. This tool provides you with information about search volume for keywords on Google and its competitiveness with other keywords.
Not only does it give you great keywords, but it also provides you with negative keywords—search terms that you should avoid because they will not result in great results. You want your keywords to send customers to your website, not someone else’s.
