SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) refers to the practice of using paid advertising and search engine optimization (SEO) strategies to increase a website’s visibility on search engine result pages (SERPs). SEM focuses on leveraging search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo to attract visitors to a website through paid search ads and organic search efforts.While SEO focuses on optimizing content to rank organically, SEM incorporates paid advertisements that appear in search results to boost visibility quickly. SEM typically includes both Paid Search Ads (PPC – Pay Per Click) and Paid Search Campaigns on search engines.
Paid Search Advertising (PPC)
- Pay-per-click (PPC) : is one of the most common forms of SEM, where advertisers bid on keywords to have their ads appear on search engine results pages (SERPs). Advertisers pay each time a user clicks on the ad.
- Google Ads (AdWords) : The most popular PPC platform, where advertisers bid on keywords for search engine text ads that appear on Google’s search results and partner websites.
- Bing Ads : The search advertising platform for Microsoft Bing, which works similarly to Google Ads.
- Yahoo Gemini : A search advertising platform for Yahoo’s search network.
Types of PPC Ads:
- Search Ads Text ads that appear on search engine results when users search for specific keywords.
- Display Ads Banner ads that appear on websites across the Google Display Network or other ad networks, typically used for brand awareness.
- Shopping Ads These ads showcase products for e-commerce websites and show up on the Google search results page with product images, prices, and retailer information.
- Video Ads Advertisers pay to display video ads on platforms like YouTube (via Google Ads).
Key Benefits of PPC:
- Instant visibility on search engines.
- Highly measurable and trackable with precise ROI calculation.
- Flexible budgeting with options to start small and scale.
- Advanced targeting (by demographics, keywords, location, etc.).
- Google Ads (AdWords) : Google Ads is the most common paid search advertising platform, and it allows advertisers to bid on keywords that users are likely to search for. Google uses a Quality Score (based on factors like ad relevance, landing page experience, and expected CTR) in determining ad placement. Google Ads offers:
- Search Campaigns : Appear in the search engine results when relevant keywords are searched.
- Display Campaigns : Ads appear across Google’s Display Network, targeting specific websites and content.
- Video Campaigns : Ads appear before or during YouTube videos or across Google partner video platforms.
- Shopping Campaigns : E-commerce sites can advertise specific products with prices, images, and store details directly in the search results.
Local Search Ads (Location-Based SEM)
- For businesses that rely on location-specific search traffic (e.g., retail stores, restaurants, service providers), Local SEM focuses on targeting users based on geographical location. These ads show up in local search results and map features, particularly helpful for local businesses.
- Google My Business Ads : and local SEO campaigns aim to enhance visibility in Google Maps and local search results.
- Geo-targeting : Ads are shown to users based on their physical location (using IP address or GPS).
- Remarketing / Retargeting Ads : Remarketing is a powerful SEM strategy that targets users who have already visited your website but did not take the desired action (such as completing a purchase or submitting a form). Through cookies, these users are shown targeted ads as they browse other sites or social media.
- Google Remarketing : This allows businesses to re-engage visitors by showing display ads when they visit other websites within Google’s Display Network.