Have you come across “sponsored posts” at the top of your Google search? Those are paid ads and they go by many names; Google Ads, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, search engine marketing (SEM) and many more.
Paid ads are the inorganic counterpart to SEO. They’re also a faster alternative to getting ranked on Google. Here’s a closer look at what SEM is and how you can use it to your advantage:
What is SEM?
SEM is a digital marketing strategy that can increase the visibility of your website. Opting for SEM will help you speed run to the top of search engine result pages (SERPs). But there’s a catch – you have to pay to get an ad placement.
These ads can be costly but there’s always a chance to gain profit through conversions. So how do you secure more conversions? Well that comes down to how effective your ad copywriting is. The more compelling your copywriting, the more effective your campaign will be.
And an effective campaign will generate more clicks and conversions, giving you your money’s worth!
How Does SEM Work?
SEM operates on a bid-based system. Advertisers have to compete for ad placement on SERPs where the highest bidders and most relevant ads are given priority. Here’s a breakdown of how it works:
- Keyword Research and Selection: Identify the keywords your target audience is searching for. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush and Ahrefs to find high-volume, low-competition keywords relevant to your business.
- Creating Ads: Create compelling ads that will appear on the SERPs. The quality of your ad copy can either make or break your campaign. The better your copywriting, the more clicks and conversions you’ll get!
- Bidding: This is where marketers are faced with the volatile nature of the bidding stage. Understanding bidding basics is crucial for optimising your ad spend, ensuring your ads appear in the right spots. When you bid on a keyword, you’re basically telling the search engine how much you’re willing to pay. The higher your bid, the better your chances of securing top spot!
- Ad Auction: An ad auction takes place every time a user searches for a keyword. This process is crucial for deciding whether your ad or your competitors will show on the page. The platform evaluates the bids, ad relevance and quality score to determine which ads will be shown.
- Ad Placement: Ads are placed on the SERPs based on the auction results. The most relevant and highest bidding ads appear at the top, labelled as “sponsored” or “ad.”
- Monitoring and Optimisation: After your ads are live, it’s essential to monitor their performance. Analysing metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates and return on ad spend (ROAS) helps in optimising your campaigns for better results.
The Benefits of SEM
- Immediate Visibility
Paid ads give marketers immediate visibility. Your website will be positioned at the top of search results for everyone to see. Nonetheless, it’s also a matter of providing users with high quality content – something that gives value to their search intent.
That’s how conversions are driven. When users find content that addresses their problems, they’re more likely to engage with your site and take action. This includes making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter or even dropping a message.
- Ad Targeting
Having trouble localising your business efforts? Or maybe you want to advertise your business elsewhere? Paid ads can help with both! Yes, that’s right, Google Ads give you the option to target ads to geographic locations.
Additionally, you can also target ads based on age, gender and even income. This ensures that your ads are displayed to the right groups. Just don’t forget to optimise your ads regularly to maintain their relevance.
- Ad Analytics
Words may lie but statistics don’t. Ad analytics are valuable tools in the world of paid ads. They allow you to measure your performance, giving you an idea of what can be improved.
These tools are practically free so you don’t have to worry about printing survey forms. You also don’t have to go about harassing customers for reviews.
Everything can be done from Google Analytics, your greatest ally when it comes to the competitive landscape of SERPs.
- Complementary to SEO
Paid ads and SEO go hand in hand. While SEM focuses on paid advertisements, SEO focuses on your website’s organic rankings. Combining them will help you cover both short-term and long-term strategies.
In fact, combining SEM and SEO has the potential to increase clicks and profits by 25% and 27% respectively. So don’t neglect your SEO once you’ve got ads running and remember to optimise them concurrently.
Conclusion
Paid ads, a strategy with many names but only one outcome – a spot at the top! The world of SERPs and ads is highly competitive and you’ll need all the help you can get. Remember to use SEM effectively and don’t forget to leverage it with your SEO efforts.
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