Anyone can set up a business, but not everyone can promote it. Marketing and promotion are a mountain to climb, especially if you are not well versed with the concepts and strategies of digital marketing.
One such concept is SEM Marketing. SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing and is one of the pillars of digital marketing; ergo, there’s no way it is an unheard name if you are on the quest of marketing your brand.
So, what is SEM? What does it do? Why is it essential for your business? Sit back and relax while we enlighten you all about it in this guide.
What is SEM Marketing?
SEM or Search Engine Marketing is a strategy that uses paid promotions to increase brand visibility.
Google ads and Bing ads are the two most popularly used SEM platforms. As SEM works through paid promotions, brands pay the SEM platforms to display their website as a search result. The results appear on the basis of keywords. When users search for these keywords, they are shown these promoted search results. These ads can be differentiated by the “Ad” banner in the search results.
How is SEM marketing Different from SEO?
Do you often confuse SEM marketing and SEO? If yes, don’t worry; you’re not alone. While SEM marketing and SEO are used as interchangeable terms, they are different. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the technique of increasing visibility organically, while SEM marketing works through paid promotions.
Important Concepts Related to SEM Marketing
After all, how can it be a detailed guide on SEM marketing without the essential concepts integral to SEM marketing? So, here are a few you need to know about.
SEM Keyword
Keywords are a set of words that are integral to both SEM and SEO. It is because the results are displayed on the basis of these keywords – be it paid or organic.
There are four different types of keywords,
Broad Match Keywords, Phrase Match Keywords, Negative Keywords and Exact Match Keywords.
All of these variations of keywords differ on the basis of target variations. Broad match keywords, for instance, can include keywords similar to each other, while Exact Match keywords are the ones that are closely related, such as ‘virtual assistance’ and ‘virtual assistant’.
SEM Targeting
SEM targeting determines the set of audience that will get to see the promoted ad. The different types of SEM targeting include location targeting (for ads aimed at certain geographical locations), ad schedule targeting (ads at different times of the day), and demographic ads (to people of a particular age group and gender).
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The Click-through rate (CTR) indicates the number of times users have clicked on your promoted link. A high CTR points to higher visibility.
A Detailed Look at How SEM Marketing Works
Enrolling in an SEM practice doesn’t guarantee results. In other words, even if you are paying for Google search results, you might not necessarily be shown in the top search results. SEM platforms work through a system that determines when (or if) your ad will be displayed. This is called Ad Auction. It is influenced by three factors:
- Max CPC Bid– The amount to be paid when the user clicks your ad.
- Quality Score– This score measures the quality of your ad. A high-quality score would increase the chances of your ad appearing in the paid search results.
- Ad Rank – Ad rank influences your ad placement in the paid search results. It is a score determined by the platform.
Why Should You Avail SEM Services for Your Business?
A great product and an out-of-the-box business idea are important, but the marketing strategy can be a gamechanger for a business. As discussed, SEM marketing is a significant aspect, the benefits of which you cannot undermine.
However, as SEM marketing can get technical for most businesses, hiring top-notch digital marketing agencies that offer SEM marketing services would be a great idea. Adlift, for instance, is India’s fastest-growing digital marketing agency. With a squad of marketing expert in the field of digital marketing, they can help you get the results you have wanted as a business.
Max Life and Axis Bank are some of the big names in the industry that have benefitted from their top-notch SEM and digital marketing services.
They cannot wait to do the same for your business. So, what are you waiting for? Head to their website to know more.
