Search Engine Marketing Basics - What Should You Know?

If we talk about Search Engine Marketing basics, we can say that it is your passport to the first page of Google and a universe of billions of daily searches.

Gaining visibility on the Internet is a goal that every company wants to achieve. Appearing in the top positions of search engines and having a presence in networks means generating traffic to our website, which ultimately means obtaining more sales. Therefore, businesses are investing more and more in Search Engine Marketing.

But what is it actually? This simple term Search Engine Marketing represents everything we do to reach the top of the results and make our website stand out from the crowd of the web. Among the Search Engine Marketing basics, you'll find the concept of SEO strategies and sponsored links. Before we discuss these concepts, let's start with what it is. Read on!

Search Engine Marketing Basics – What is it?

If you've seen ads showing at the top or right of search engines, you know what Search Engine Marketing is.

Search Engine Marketing is also known as Search Marketing and SEM. It is the process of attracting traffic to your website either through organic methods such as Search Engine Optimization – SEO, or by buying ads on search engine advertising platforms – SEA. Simply put, we can say that SEM = SEO + SEA.

Components of SEM

As said earlier, SEM is the combination of SEO and SEA, so here we define both terms for you.

1. Search engine optimization (SEO) - SEO includes all activities that you carry out to ensure that your website scores are higher in the organic results of search engines such as Google. Within the framework of this method, measures are carried out for internal and external optimization of the site, due to which the compliance of the resource with the requirements of search engines is ensured. To optimize sites for search engines, we usually pay attention to the site indexing, its code, design, usability, content, tags and link building.
   To know more about SEO, explore our SEO Strategy section.
2. Search Engine Advertising (SEA) - SEA stands for Search Engine Advertising, which is also referred to as sponsored links, paid ads or PPC (Pay-Per-Click). Search Engine Advertising is the process of posting ads on search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. The text of advertising is drafted, keeping in view the search terms that users use to look for information on the web. These ads are displayed either on top of the page or to the right side of the Organic Results. Here's the screenshot of a query and resulting ads:
   
   
   
   Among these, PPC is the most known billing model of SEA, there are some others worth discussing. Some of these are given below:

SEM ad models for paid marketing

There is more behind the clickable button in the ad than just transferring the user to a given website. Each model of advertising on the Internet is billed in a slightly different way. It depends on the type of ad, target, target audience and even the industry. Before you decide on a specific type, learn about the most popular ad billing models on the Internet.

1. CPA
   Cost Per Action - an advertising model billed for the performance of a specific action (signing up for a newsletter, placing an order, filling out a form, etc.).
2. CPL
   Cost Per Lead - an advertisement for which the advertiser pays
3. CPS
   Cost Per Sale - the cost of advertising, in this case, is borne by the advertiser at the moment when the user makes a purchase. CPS is one of the most expensive advertising models, yet it is often used in the e-commerce industry.
4. CPM / CPT
   Cost Per Mille/ Cost Per Thousand - an advertising model in which the advertiser pays a fee for a certain number of views. This type of advertising is used, especially in image campaigns, focused on a large reach.
5. CPV
   Cost Per View - in this case, the billing model is based on the number of views of a video ad. Used on platforms such as YouTube, it refers to the view itself or the length of the watched video.

Advantages of Search Engine Marketing

Search engine marketing is an excellent tool that many specialists use. It is therefore worth taking a look at the advantages of a good SEM campaign.

1. Increases brand awareness: Good SEM means more people are aware of your brand. Think about what happens when you search for something online - you only pay attention to the first few results on a page. So, if you use SEM to be among those top performers, there is a greater chance that people will see your brand and gain recognition for it.
2. Increases site traffic: This is one of the main goals of SEM to help you get the most relevant site traffic so that these people become your customers later on. This is because you move up the rankings and become one of the first results people see. Therefore, they are more likely to click your link and go to your website.
3. Gain the right audience: SEM allows you to advertise your website to an audience who should already be a bit interested in what you have to offer. This is because you're targeting specific keywords, so you're essentially showing your ad to the right audience. As a consequence, you acquire potential customers who are willing to convert, and thus you can also observe an increase in sales.
4. Excellent ROI: By investing in SEM, you will see direct results. It has an advantage over other types of advertising activities; thanks to its channel of reaching, which translates into a high return on investment.

How to run an SEM marketing campaign successfully?

To improve your search engine positioning through payment strategies, it is essential to understand the entire procedure involved in SEM. Although this is a paid marketing strategy, this does not mean that you should not plan carefully to ensure that all of your objectives are met.

Be very careful not to base your search marketing on just placing ads without rhyme or reason. You will be spending money and time without any sense. What matters is knowing how to invest all these resources effectively. Shoot aiming at the target and not with a blindfold.

For a SEM campaign to be successful, it is important to:

• Choose keywords carefully by studying its positioning very well.
• Write an ad copy with a hook. We have to draw the attention of the user above what is a simple banner
• Assess the different options that the SEM offers us. That is, investigate if pay per click, impressions, group ads, etc. are more convenient for us.

The better the SEM strategy adapts to our needs, the better the final results will be. In case you need professional assistance, you can always count on us. At FairTech we consider that a good SEM strategy starts from an in-depth analysis of the user's needs, a good study of the market and the creation of smart campaigns. We use different techniques for prospecting and retargeting to generate valuable engagement and greater sales.

We can help you form the best strategies too. Contact us today for a free consultation!