SEM is an acronym for Search Engine Marketing and is a very useful tool for small businesses, through which they can effectively reach new customers. Moreover, through a strategy in which you alternate SEO & SEM services you can increase your revenue and even lower your acquisition costs.
Search Engine Marketing may seem like a rather vague and general term, but it has become a very specific way of marketing applied to search engines. Specifically, it is paid searches, or paid advertisements, that help you position yourself higher in Google search results, for example. Of course, it does not hurt to turn your attention to engines like Bing or Yahoo. But Google is the market leader in this field. The most widely used and popular application for these ads is Google AdWords.
How does SEM work?
SEM takes advantage of the power of search engines like Google to reach potential customers at the right time and at the right place. SEM incorporates several techniques and aspects that help both conversions and visibility:
- impressions – how many times your ad was visible on a screen. Attention, this does not necessarily mean that the person saw the advertisement.
- CPC (cost-per-click) – how much you pay each time someone clicks on your ad
- CPM (cost per million impressions) – this is another way to pay for your search engine ads. Depending on your goals and how the tools are calibrated, you may want to pay just to be seen.
- CTR (click through rate) – the number of clicks your site receives from users who saw the ad, even if they didn’t click directly on the ad.
SEM and SEO
Although they are not the same thing, although resembling acronyms can make you believe that, SEM and SEO are no different. And all those articles that recommend SEM vs. SEO are not exactly efficient. This is because they should not be approached separately, but together, working as a team. SEO (Search Engine Optimization), if done correctly, helps you rank higher in Google search results, organically.
Thus, even though SEM is your main marketing method, you cannot give up SEO. Other SEO components look at and improve the site upload speed, UX, meta tags, which SEM also needs.
If you do not run SEM campaigns effectively, and you choose the “activate and let it go” method, Google will increase the price for each click you pay. At the same time, if you have a well-defined strategy, Google rewards you with low costs and increased visibility. For the best results, turn to companies specialized in such services. The SEO King team offers you specialized consulting, tailored auditing and strategies according to your needs and budget.
