Search Engine Management & Its Importance For Businesses
Search engines are how people access the world and learn new things. No matter the intent, billions of users take to search engines every day to research and make purchasing decisions. Over the last 10 years, search has become the user interface for the internet. People use search engines to find information all over the world. To tap into this massive opportunity and get results, effective display advertising, advanced technology and search engine management is required.
Search engines are a complicated and nuanced field to learn about. They are not a one-size-fits-all solution. From mobile to desktop, the search engine results pages (SERPs) differ considerably. The only way to exploit search’s potential is to enlist the help of advanced search technology. Otherwise, your business will be handling endless amounts of data from keywords, searches, consumer behavior and different device types and locations. Companies will undoubtedly need insight from a search engine technology such as Google Analytics & Google Search Console to help them analyse this data, manage the search engines, and react to the data accordingly. Research from BrightEdge shows that organic search is the biggest driver of traffic across all major industries – driving on average 51% of website traffic.
What Is Search Engine Marketing? (SEM)
Originally known as “search engine marketing,” the word “search marketing” is now often used as the umbrella term for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and PPC (pay per click). Essentially it is a digital marketing strategy used to increase visibility of a website in the SERPs. While the phrase used to refer to both organic and paid search operations it now nearly solely refers to paid search advertising or PPC. Effective PPC campaign setup & management ensures a greater chance of exposure and brand awareness on the search network. In fact, they have grown in popularity, with 75% of people saying that paid search ads make it easier to find the information they are searching for on a website or Google.
Why Is SEM Important?
With an increasing number of consumers researching and shopping for products & services online, search engine marketing has become a crucial online marketing strategy for expanding a company’s reach. Advertisers only pay for impressions that result in visitors in search engine marketing, making it a cost-effective option for a company to spend its marketing budget. As an added advantage, each visitor helps to boost the website’s organic search results rankings. When compared to other platforms such as social media, where users are not intentionally searching for something, customers entering search queries have intent of finding commercial information – putting them in the optimal state for a conversion.
Consumers are most receptive to fresh information when they are exposed to search marketing. PPC advertising is non-intrusive and does not disrupt their tasks, unlike the majority of internet advertising. In fact, 26% click on a paid search ad because it mentions a brand they are familiar with. SEM provides immediate results. It is, without a doubt, the quickest technique to get people to visit a website.
How SEM Works
Search engines use complicated algorithms to ensure the most relevant results are always returned for each search, including location and other available information. Sponsored adverts appear at the top and side of search engine results pages to obtain greater visibility than organic results lower down in the SERPs. Assume you’re a customer looking for a product or service on the internet. You go to a search engine and enter in the terms you’re looking for (keywords). You may see several other business ads in your search results page whose keywords match the keywords in your search.
These adverts, along with the other search listings that match your terms, appear prominently on the page. Because the paid listings are highly relevant to your search, you are more likely to click on them.
Search Ad Networks
Google ads have the most reach of any ad platform due to massive market shares Google possesses. In fact, Google currently holds 87% of total search engine market share for smart phones & 75% market share for desktop and laptop computers. The Google Search Network and the Google Display Network are the two networks that make up Google AdWords. The first network is made up entirely of Google-owned search-related websites, while the second includes YouTube, Blogger, and Gmail.
Your ads may display on the Google Search Network, which is a collection of search-related websites and apps. When someone searches for terms relevant to one of your keywords, your ad may appear alongside search results when you advertise on the Google Search Network.
The Display Network is a group of websites that display advertisements, including specific Google services such as Google Finance, Gmail, Blogger, and YouTube. Mobile sites and apps are also part of this network.
Campaign Setup
When setting up a campaign within an SEM network, the marketer/business should follow these guidelines to ensure a successful PPC campaign:
- Conduct keyword research and select a set of keywords related to the website or product
- Select a geographic location for the ad to be displayed within – usually where the business is trying to reach customers
- Create a text-based ad to display in the search results/search network
- Bid on a price they are willing to pay for each click on their ad
Text ads are easy to produce. The marketer enters a headline, text for the body of the ad, a call to action and a URL for the hyperlink. SEM is considered by many to be the most efficient way to spend an advertising budget.
Search Engine Marketing Setup & Management Taunton
While SEO can take months to show results, SEM can get you clicks and conversions in a matter of days. You have complete control over when and who sees your ads, making the channel ideal for experimenting with new ideas, driving visitors to a sale, or boosting traffic during slower periods.
The reality is that SEO and SEM should not be viewed as separate channels, but rather as two components of a bigger digital strategy that uses search engines to promote visibility, traffic, and conversions.
Effective digital strategies like PPC & SEO are vital for building brand awareness & online visibility. Search4Local offer a variety of digital strategies for local Taunton businesses.
Contact us today to discover more about search engine marketing.