{"id":15928,"date":"2020-10-18T23:55:29","date_gmt":"2020-10-18T23:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precisebusiness.net\/?p=15928"},"modified":"2020-10-18T23:55:29","modified_gmt":"2020-10-18T23:55:29","slug":"search-engine-marketing-sem-how-to-do-it-right-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reactlocal.com\/blog\/search-engine-marketing-sem-how-to-do-it-right-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Search Engine Marketing SEM How to Do It Right"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Search engine marketing, or SEM, is one of the most effective ways to grow your business in an increasingly competitive marketplace. With millions of businesses out there all vying for the same eyeballs, it\u2019s never been more important to advertise online, and search engine marketing is the most effective way to promote your products and grow your business.<\/p>\n

In this guide, you’ll learn an overview of search engine marketing basics as well as some tips and strategies for doing search engine marketing right.<\/p>\n

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Search Engine Marketing \u2013 An Overview<\/h2>\n

Search engine marketing is the practice of marketing a business using paid advertisements that appear on search engine results pages (or SERPs<\/a>). Advertisers bid on keywords that users of services such as Google and Bing might enter when looking for certain products or services, which gives the advertiser the opportunity for their ads to appear alongside results for those search queries.<\/p>\n

These ads, often known by the term pay-per-click ads, come in a variety of formats. Some are small, text-based ads, whereas others, such as product listing ads (PLAs, also known as Shopping ads) are more visual, product-based advertisements that allow consumers to see important information at-a-glance, such as price and reviews.<\/p>\n

Search engine marketing\u2019s greatest strength is that it offers advertisers the opportunity to put their ads in front of motivated customers who are ready to buy at the precise moment they\u2019re ready to make a purchase. No other advertising medium can do this, which is why search engine marketing is so effective and such an amazingly powerful way to grow your business.<\/p>\n

SEM vs. SEO<\/h2>\n

SEM versus SEO: What’s the difference?<\/p>\n

Generally, “search engine marketing” refers to paid search marketing, a system where businesses pay Google to show their ads in the search results.<\/p>\n

Search engine optimization, or SEO<\/a>, is different because businesses don’t pay Google for traffic and clicks; rather, they earn a free spot in in the search results by having the most relevant content for a given keyword search.<\/p>\n

Both SEO and SEM should be fundamental parts of your online marketing strategy. SEO is a powerful way to drive evergreen traffic at the top of the funnel, while search engine advertisements are a highly cost-effective way to drive conversions at the bottom of the funnel.<\/p>\n

Keywords: The Foundation of Search Engine Marketing<\/h2>\n

Keywords are the foundation of search engine marketing. As users enter keywords (as part of search queries<\/em>) into search engines to find what they\u2019re looking for, it should come as little surprise that keywords form the basis of search engine marketing as an advertising strategy.<\/p>\n

SEM Keyword Research<\/h3>\n

Before you can choose which keywords to use in your search engine marketing campaigns, you need to conduct comprehensive research as part of your keyword management<\/a> strategy.<\/p>\n

First, you need to identify keywords that are relevant to your business and that prospective customers are likely to use when searching for your products and services. One way to accomplish this is by using WordStream\u2019s Free Keyword Tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Simply enter a keyword that\u2019s relevant to your business or service, and see related keyword suggestion<\/a> ideas that can form the basis of various search engine marketing campaigns.<\/p>\n

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WordStream\u2019s Free Keyword Tool provides you with a range of valuable information, such as search volume for each individual keyword in Google and its general competitiveness.<\/p>\n

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In addition to helping you find keywords you should be bidding on, thorough keyword research can also help you identify negative keywords<\/em> \u2013 search terms that you should exclude from your campaigns. Negative keywords<\/a> aren\u2019t terms with negative connotations, but rather irrelevant terms that are highly unlikely to result in conversions. For example, if you sell ice cream, you might want to exclude the keyword \u201cice cream recipes\u201d, as users searching for ice cream recipes are unlikely to be in the market for your product.<\/p>\n

This concept is known as search intent<\/em>, or the likelihood that a prospect will complete a purchase or other desired action after searching for a given term. Some keywords are considered to have high commercial intent<\/em>, or a strong indication that the searcher wants to buy something. Examples of high commercial intent keywords include:<\/p>\n