Getting Started with SEM
SEM (Search Engine Marketing) are campaigns to advertise your business and your website on the Internet. Pay-per-click advertising is part of SEM, and Google dominates this market segment. A company looking to promote their company online will do one of two things.
- Pay a search engine to either place an advertisement on the search results page.
- List their website near the top of the first page of the results.
Both methods will feature the site when the user searches for their keywords.
Search Engine Marketing
There are many ways to market your business using a search engine or a social media platform. Your website is the delivery method of your message. Several popular SEM tools are pay-per-impression (PPI) for brand awareness or pay-per-click (PPC). In the case of PPC, you will want to research keywords that are associated with your goods and services. You would then “bid” on these keywords understanding the results of the highest bidders will likely be presented first.
Another method is to place a small banner image advertising your business in the margin of the search results page. The banner will appear to viewers based on the search terms used. Regardless, PPI or PPC advertising is a quick and easy way to put your advertisements in front of the right people.
PPC allows you to quickly appear at the top of a search engine page, even if your keywords are competitive. In comparison, organic rankings can take years to improve.
Another benefit of PPC advertising is the ability to optimize conversions using the analytics most search engines provide. These SEM analytics allow you to tweak your advertisement as needed. This data also help you optimize your keywords by illustrating which keywords are best for similar products.
The primary disadvantage of SEM is the cost. Some keywords are valuable, resulting in a competition that brings up the price. The best tactic for PPC is to keep track of what keywords that have the best return on investment. PPC is a constant process of optimization, and you can expect to spend time and effort optimizing the process. SEM requires ongoing effort, and this is another reason engaging an expert is beneficial.
Wrapping Up
Both SEO and SEM have advantages and disadvantages, and both require frequent maintenance to optimize. Whether you need SEO, SEM, or both, B-Web is here to help. Our SEM experts will make use of proven strategies to place your website in front of your prospective customers. Call us today for your free consultation so we can help you get to the top of the list.
