When it comes to digital marketing, every click and impression that your website receives matters a great deal. You never know which view will get you a sale or a phone call, so it’s imperative to reach as many people as possible for more chances at making a connection. SEM is a powerful tool that can help you extend your reach even further, giving your business the push that it needs to see greater success.
If you were looking for effective methods for boosting your online presence, then you’ve come to the right place because we’re about to teach you how to use the power of SEM to your advantage!
SEM = Search Engine Marketing
Search engine marketing (SEM) is a digital marketing strategy that involves buying the top spots that you see in online search results. Have you ever Googled a service near you to see “sponsored” results first and foremost before scrolling down to see the regular list of results? This method is an effective way to help steer your audience in the right direction when they’re not sure where to go for their needs.
Does Every Successful Business Use SEM?
Like SEO, SEM is often used by business owners to get their companies off the ground or to maintain their level of success. Nearly every leading competitor, regardless of the type of business, utilizes the power of SEM to secure their company’s online presence, encourage consistent engagement with their customers, and boost their profit margins with the increased traffic to their online platforms.
What Does Buying The “Top Spot” Do For Me?
Taking advantage of SEM isn’t something that’s wise to overlook. Say you mastered the art of keywords and managed to work your way to the top of the organic search engine results page (SERP) for auto shops in your area. If a competing auto shop paid for SEM geo-targeted to the same area, potential customers will still see their website before yours and might choose them over you.
By using SEM to promote your business, you can benefit from the following:
- Instant visibility for your business at the top of the search results
- Established awareness of your company for credibility
- A targeted customer base of individuals who require your services
- Easily-measured results through a monitored advertising platform
How To Set Up Your SEM Campaign
Since you can’t exactly predict what keywords people will search and how many people will search for those exact keywords, SEM campaigns are comprised of set stipulations based on your personal knowledge and predictions. You will be tasked with supplying a list of curated keywords relating to the content that you wish to promote along with runtimes, dates, budgets, and/or reach limits. There are an abundance of settings, putting you in charge of exactly how you want your SEM campaign to run. When used correctly, these sponsored results can be the key to your business’ success.
Examples of SEM Campaign Settings
- Schedule: Choose which days of the week (and time of day) you want your sponsored search result to appear.
- Location: Select the exact locations to geo-target your ad’s reach.
- Audience: Target users based on their demographics, spending habits, and past search history.
- Creative: Use additional copy or images to make your sponsored search result stand out.
- Budget: Set a daily or lifetime spending budget to indicate how long your ad will run.
- Device: Have your sponsored ads appear only on certain devices like smartphones, laptops, or computers.
- Objective: Prioritize website traffic, conversions, brand awareness, or product promotions.
How Do I Know My SEM Campaign Is Working?
SEM marketing typically allows you a way to access the data on your campaign, showing you the exact number of reaches your site has gained, where the views are coming from, and so on. While having a high reach is great, this doesn’t always translate to success since your audience could see your content and still decide to look elsewhere.
A high reach count, paired with the number of actual business transactions or interactions that you experience during the time of the campaign, can give a better indicator of whether or not your efforts are bearing any fruit. Performing these calculations can be tricky, but a marketing professional can help you sort through the data.
Do Marketing Companies Specialize In SEM?
Learning an entirely new way of marketing might not have a spot on your busy schedule as mastering the art can’t be accomplished in a single day. That’s why many companies, including small businesses, will hire marketing professionals to help their SEM for them. Marketers have a duty to learn all of the latest methods so they can utilize what works and what doesn’t in order to help their clients. SEM is no doubt crucial in online marketing, and so any successful marketing professional will know how to navigate the process with finesse.
Hiring a marketer to handle your SEM will bring sound strategies to your business, allowing you to stay ahead of the curve and give you an edge over your competitors. And by taking the task off of your schedule, you will have more time and resources to spend on actually running your business!
Technology Marketing Concepts Is Your SEM Expert!
Ready to catapult your business to the top of the SERP? Partner with Tech Mark today and unleash the full potential of your SEM strategy! Our dedicated team of marketing professionals knows how to utilize SEM to your advantage. We have helped countless small businesses like yours get discovered among the crowd of competitors, paving the way for their success for countless years and beyond.
Give Technology Marketing Concepts a call at 626-919-7172 to schedule a consultation and we’ll gladly discuss online marketing strategies that can work for you!