SEM Services
Organic content reigns in the age of non-interruptive marketing — but search engine marketing (SEM) still has a significant seat at the table. SEM services can drive targeted traffic to your website, attracting potential customers actively searching for what you have to offer.
Our SEM experts can help you use paid search advertising, such as Google PPC and Microsoft Advertising, as a strategic supplement to your content marketing campaigns. By leveraging our SEM agency’s expertise, you can optimise your ad spend to maximise your return on investment.
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What Is SEM?
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a form of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising that promotes your content at the very top of search engine results pages (SERPs) like Google, Bing and others. Through SEM services, your ads appear when users search for relevant keywords, increasing website traffic and attracting qualified leads. The publisher of the ad pays a fee each time a user clicks on the paid search result, making ad spend directly tied to performance.
Why SEM?
SEM and other forms of click advertising have substantial strategic value in your overall digital marketing strategy and marketing mix.
While awareness and use of search marketing have risen exponentially, paid search remains among the highest-performing ad formats to drive online visibility, conversions and return on investment. By optimising your ad spend and targeting relevant keywords, SEM services can amplify your reach. Need more convincing? Here are some other reasons:
Better CTR
Click-through rates (CTR) for most forms of display advertising average less than 0.5%. Just to be overly clear: That means less than half of a single percent of all users who see your ad ever click on it.
By comparison, the average CTR for an SEM campaign is 3-5%. And that’s just a baseline; utilising search engine marketing services from a marketing agency may be able to further move the needle for your business and boost conversion rates. By carefully managing your ad groups and crafting compelling SEM ads, you can achieve a successful SEM campaign that delivers targeted traffic.
Potential for Quick Results
Making your way to Page 1 of a search engine results page through organic content marketing works, but it takes time and effort — more than 100 days in many cases.
As you build out your organic content, SEM can immediately help your website by generating traffic. Search engine marketing is not a substitute for organic SEO; however, it can effectively support the early phases of your internet marketing efforts as you increase website traffic and awareness. By utilising PPC services, you can connect with potential customers actively searching for your services.
Brand Awareness
Paid advertising still gets you into the very first listings users see as they scroll through Page 1 of SERPs. The high placement means you can attract users with search intent relevant to your business or keywords.
This exposure can help build brand awareness by as much as 80% in some cases, according to Google. Just remember to keep in mind that non-paid search results on the first half of Page 1 SERPs regularly see CTRs of 50% or higher, which means you’ll need to balance your channel efforts.
Shortcut to Product Pages
Every major search engine including Google and Bing provides PPC ads for shoppers that appear toward the top of a SERP. With one click, a user interacting with your paid ad is directed to your product or service landing page. How’s that for a competitive advantage?
For B2B and B2C brands that sell directly through their site or other online marketing places, paid shopping ads provide a quick and easy shortcut to the online point of sale.
Promotion for Local Services
For B2B and B2C brands that sell directly through their site or other online marketing places, paid shopping ads provide a quick and easy shortcut to the online point of sale. Additionally, SEM services can boost your visibility in local markets, connecting you with potential customers nearby.
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How Does SEM Work?
Search engine management involves a bidding process in which publishers compete to list for search queries. Effective SEM management ensures your ads appear in front of the right audience without overspending.
PPC SEM
For Google’s Search Network, ad publishers bid for space based on the maximum amount they’re willing to pay for a click. Ad quality also factors in. Here’s the secret sauce for how Google determines which CPC ads to display:
It multiplies the maximum bid by a Quality Score. The Quality Score is based on the page’s relevance to the specific keyword used in the search query, the CTR of the page, past on-page ad performance and overall page performance.
The resulting score is the Ad Rank. Only pages that meet the Ad Rank Threshold are considered for display in a search query.
Finally, Google decides the order of the ads to be posted based on Ad Rank. The ad with the highest ranking takes the No. 1 spot.
It’s important to note that because Quality Score is a factor, the highest bidder is not necessarily the winner. Careful SEM management and optimisation can lead to better positions at lower costs, maximising your ad spend effectiveness.
Local Service Ads
Service-based businesses that sign up for Local Service Ads determine a weekly budget for their ads in advance.
Unlike PPC marketing services, publishers pay per lead — a phone call or message. Cost per lead varies based on the type of job and the local market. There is no bidding process. Instead, Google automatically determines which ads to post based on the following factors:
- Proximity to the searcher’s location.
- Business hours.
- Number of reviews and the score of those reviews.
- Responsiveness to customer enquiries and requests.
- Any complaints about the business.
Utilising Local Service Ads as part of your SEM strategy can help attract potential customers in your area, generating qualified leads for your business.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
vs. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
The main difference between search engine optimisation (SEO) and SEM is that the former is unpaid.
SEO relies on organic, unpaid content to improve online visibility. This mainly includes optimising website copy with technical SEO metrics and keyword research to reach potential customers. SEO also involves off-page optimisation through social media marketing — for X (formerly Twitter) or Facebook — email marketing, backlink strategies and other off-site tactics.
Without a strong SEO strategy, SEM can end up costing more money. This is because of the important role that Quality Score plays in determining CPC.
Optimising your landing pages to rank for certain keywords is critical to supporting PPC strategies and reducing costs. Integrating SEO services with your SEM campaigns can improve your overall search advertising effectiveness.
Why Brafton for SEM?
Brafton is a full-service digital marketing agency that can take the reins on your SEM strategy and PPC management. Our PPC strategists can help you through every phase of executing SEM, including:
- Setting goals for what you want to achieve through your paid campaign.
- Strategising how to use ad spend best.
- Setting up SEM campaigns.
- Making recommendations about how to lower CPC while improving impressions; for instance, by optimising your ad’s landing page and improving your local SEO.
- Crafting short-form ad copy that can improve CTR.
- Measuring KPIs such as impressions, CTR, bounce rate, conversions and other metrics.
- Adjusting the strategy based on findings.
- Providing case studies to showcase successful SEM campaigns.
Here’s how SEM services at Brafton work:
Step 1: Meet your team
When you begin working with Brafton on your SEM campaigns and strategy, you’ll get a dedicated team, including an SEM consultant, project manager and content marketing strategist. Our SEM experts specialise in SEM management and will guide you every step of the way.
Step 2: Define your goals
This team will work with you to define your goals and KPIs and discuss the best ways to leverage our SEM services to achieve them. We focus on attracting qualified leads and increasing website traffic through targeted SEM ads.
Step 3: Plan your strategy
This team will work with you to define your goals and KPIs and discuss the best ways to leverage our SEM services to achieve them. We focus on attracting qualified leads and increasing website traffic through targeted SEM ads.
- Display ads (e.g. Google Display Network).
- Paid text ads (e.g. Google Ads, formerly AdWords, or Bing Ads).
- Paid content syndication (e.g. Taboola or Outbrain).
- Retargeting (e.g. AdRoll).
- Shopping campaigns (e.g. Amazon Advertising or Google Shopping Campaign).
Our expertise in managing ad groups and selecting relevant keywords ensures your ads reach the right audience.
Step 4: Analyse and improve
Our PPC management services include monthly SEM analysis and management of your paid search campaigns. We’ll show you how your strategy works and make suggestions for iproving it based on performance data and research for every single Google ad.
We will also recommend SEO services that can help support your SEM campaigns by driving organic traffic to your website, thus improving your Quality Score.
We’ll make sure you get what you pay for and then some. Our goal is to create a successful SEM campaign that maximises your ad spend and delivers measurable results.
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