Search Engine Marketing

SEM is paid online advertising, known as pay-per-click that is displayed in highlighted text or on the sides of search engines. These advertisements come in many forms including text, image and video. To be effective, they must be eye-catching and one of the first items on a search engine page. The higher the ranking, the more probable leads will click the advertisement which could lead to sales.

Setting a Budget

Unfortunately since the Internet is saturated with Internet Marketers, SEM can be an expensive solution. Luckily, advertisers can set a daily budget or maximum bid amount to maintain the costs. Once the predetermined budget is reach for the day, the advertisement is removed from the search terms.

Google Statistics

The vendor of choice for Internet advertising is typically Google AdWords. According to a recent report by eConsultancy, almost 95 percent of businesses and marketing agencies utilize Google for their SEM needs. The study further proved that 53 percent of respondents are transitioning marketing and advertising budgets from print to search engine marketing.

SEO/SEM Strategy

SEM has proven to be most effective as a segment of an online marketing strategy that also includes social media marketing and SEO. By combining these methods, online businesses will generate online name recognition, targeted potential-customers and increased website traffic which leads to higher revenues.

Hiring a Professional

For those that do not have the time or technical know-how to implement such a strategy, there are a number of integrated marketing firms to assist with the website design and management. Many provide guaranteed results. For instance, many SEO and online marketing companies guarantee a client’s website will be on the first page of Google within a specified time period. Again, first page equates to more traffic and thus more sales.

Search Engine Optimization and online marketing have gradually changed over the years with Google telling the Internet world what they need to do to be noticed by visitors. Since Google makes the rules, most Internet Marketers will implement strategies and concepts specific to the Google algorithm. As it changes so do most professionals so it is important to pay attention to the changes that are enforced.

Related posts:

• October 25, 2010 – When is PPC Advertising Ideal?
• March 3, 2009 – The Importance of SEM
• December 18, 2008 – SEO and SEM: What’s the Difference?
• August 20, 2009 – How Specialities Can Hinder the Overall Effective of an SEM Campaign
• December 5, 2008 – A Closer Look at SEM Basics
• November 19, 2008 – Should You Outsource SEM?
• August 21, 2009 – Incorporating SEM and SMM into Your Marketing Campaign
• July 23, 2009 – Seven SEO Myths Debunked
• January 16, 2012 – Top 4 Ways to Optimize WordPress for Search Engines
• December 1, 2011 – The Importance of SEO

Using PPC advertising can give you highly targeted traffic because it simulates having a top ranked site for the keywords of your choice. Companies and website owners bid on keywords, and the more they pay, the more their link appears in the search results. While being at the top of Google for  the keyword of your choice may seem appealing, PPC advertising can quickly diminish your advertising budget if you’re not careful. The following information reveals when PPC advertising is friend or foe.

Low Competition Keywords

Bidding on low competition keywords can have one of two effects – it may give you access to an untapped traffic source, or it could waste your money as their is simply not enough public interest in the keyword. Even if there if interest and you get plenty of clicks in a short amount of time, there is no telling how well this traffic will convert to sales. The goal of a PPC campaign is to gain more in sales than you spend on advertising, and in order to do this you’ll need to either perform extensive testing, or understand your conversion rates beforehand. Finding the right keyword to bid on is the name if the game in PPC advertising, and while it may be tempting to bid on a highly popular keyword that on the surface appears to be profitable, it is important to keep in mind that you’re competing with companies that have very ‘deep’ pockets.

After Conversion Rates Are Established

Perhaps the best way to get the most out of your PPC investment is to thoroughly establish what your conversion rates are for specific keywords before pouring money into a campaign. For example, if you know that for every 100 people that visit your site you get 10 sales, and your item costs $5, then you make approximately $50 for every 100 people that visit your site. Thus, you would not want to pay more than $0.25 per click ($25.00 per 100 clicks) because you would be exceeding a safe investment level. After you’ve established your conversion rates and you’re having success with a particular keyword then you can begin upscaling your PPC campaigns for even greater success.

Conclusion

If your site is relatively new and you’ve not yet established a reliable and consistent conversion rate then you should proceed with caution when attempting your first PPC campaign. Unfortunately, investing a small amount at a time will not give you a solid indication of a campaigns potential success, which is why most people wait until they’ve had conventional SEO success before moving into PPC advertising.

Related posts:

• September 1, 2011 – Search Engine Marketing Effect
• August 20, 2009 – How Specialities Can Hinder the Overall Effective of an SEM Campaign
• March 3, 2009 – The Importance of SEM
• December 18, 2008 – SEO and SEM: What’s the Difference?
• August 21, 2009 – Incorporating SEM and SMM into Your Marketing Campaign
• July 23, 2009 – Seven SEO Myths Debunked
• December 5, 2008 – A Closer Look at SEM Basics
• November 19, 2008 – Should You Outsource SEM?
• November 12, 2008 – Generating Traffic with Search Engines
• January 16, 2012 – Top 4 Ways to Optimize WordPress for Search Engines

Paid Inclusion

Paid inclusion is something that is heavily discussed when the topic of SEM comes up.  This simply refers to paying a directory or search engine to immediately add a website to its database rather than designing the site to naturally attract search engine robots.  Some view this method as their only option for being listed while others are totally against it.  The hard truth is that there is no way to pay your way to the top of the rankings.  Search engines are increasingly disqualifying sites trying to purchase listings, leaving all their efforts futile.  If this is a practice you choose to partake in, make sure you are aware of the consequences.

Advertising

Advertising is another SEM technique employed by online businesses.  This method involves taking out advertisements on search engine result pages.  These ads are typically display based on keywords a user inputs into a search engine with costs ranging on the number of impressions or appearances of the ad.  What this simply means is that you must pay for the advertisement whether it drives traffic to your site or not.

Pay Per Click

PPC (Pay Per Click) ads are common in SEM as well.  You can have complete control over your campaign with the freedom to select the keywords that trigger your ads, the copy you want inserted and usually how much you want to invest.  Hence the name, you are only required to pay when someone clicks on an ad and is then redirected to your site.  Two of the major PPC networks are Google and Yahoo Search Marketing, each of which come with advantages and disadvantages.  When signing on for either program, be prepared to invest a substantial amount of time and money into running such a campaign.

Unlike genuine SEO, the SEM practices mentioned above offer one major benefit: immediacy.  If money isn’t an issue and you want to increase your visibility on the web right away, one or a combination of these techniques could be the way to go.  Take heed that the disadvantages may be far more detrimental to your efforts.  If your site isn’t designed accordingly, visitors could be turned off when they do get there.  A site that is difficult to navigate and doesn’t deliver what the visitor is looking for is the easiest way to blow your SEM campaign.

SEO First and Foremost

In short, no SEM campaign can be complete without practicing sound SEO first.  The primary goal of SEO is to make the site friendly for both the search engine and your visitors.  So even if you plan to spend money on PPC campaigns and other SEM elements, be sure that SEO is covered before you start heavy promotions.

Related posts:

• September 1, 2011 – Search Engine Marketing Effect
• March 3, 2009 – The Importance of SEM
• December 5, 2008 – A Closer Look at SEM Basics
• November 19, 2008 – Should You Outsource SEM?
• September 25, 2011 – Search Engine Optimization tips for Bing
• September 8, 2011 – SEO Web Hosting: A Powerful Tool to Dominate Search Engine Rankings
• November 12, 2010 – SEO vs. Viral Marketing
• October 25, 2010 – When is PPC Advertising Ideal?
• March 8, 2010 – Search Engine Optimization and Consumer Awareness
• August 20, 2009 – How Specialities Can Hinder the Overall Effective of an SEM Campaign