As a business owner, you’ve probably heard of Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, a time or two when discussing your marketing strategy. But have you heard of Search Engine Marketing (SEM)? Believe it or not, there’s actually a pretty big difference between the two.
While SEO refers to tactics and activities that can increase your website’s chances of being on the first page of search engine results, SEM allows you to pay different search engines to attract consumers already searching for your products and services. So, for example, if you sell handmade, organic soap in a specific city, a consumer searching for those keywords in a search engine would get an ad for your business!
There are plenty of SEM strategies to help you grow your business at a low cost. Using SEM is essential to keep your business competitive with larger, nationally recognized chains. But there are plenty of other advantages to incorporating SEM into your digital marketing strategy.
Take a look at some of the best benefits of SEM:
- Leads from Your Target Audience. Because SEM uses keywords, your ads are already going to people actively searching for products and services in your business’s industry. That makes it exponentially easier to convert a lead into a paying customer. All you need to do is think of the right keywords! Just try to think of less competitive keywords- the more competitive the keyword, the more you’ll need to pay.
- Relevancy. It’s no surprise that a search engine is the most popular way consumers get their information. Yellowpages, newspaper ads, and phonebooks are a thing of the past- putting your brand online will keep your business relevant and updated with other similar companies. This is particularly important for local businesses, as 74% of local users will use a search engine to look for local businesses in their area. Of those, 82% will lead to a phone call, in-store visit, or purchase. That’s a considerable amount of business, just from a web search!
- Budget-Friendly. Like SEO, SEM is pretty budget-friendly as you can choose the amount you want to spend. PPC, or pay per click, is a great, low-cost SEM strategy, as you will only pay the search engine for every user that clicks on your website. Depending on your keywords, you can also choose how much you pay per click. Plus, since SEM gives you plenty of metrics to check your progress, you can quickly adapt and change your budget based on what’s working and what needs improvement.
- Low-Risk. Because SEM is so adaptable and so low-cost, it makes it an extremely low-risk marketing option. No matter how much you choose to spend, you’ll always get a result. Even if search engines change their algorithms, SEM strategies likely won’t change too much. That means good business for you AND the search engine!
Trust Wellspring Business Solutions with your digital marketing strategy. We are a team of skilled, passionate professionals specializing in various digital marketing solutions, including content writing, email marketing & automation, social media marketing and ads, video marketing, SEO, and cross-channel marketing. We act as your marketing partner – whether it’s a one-time project or you need a full-service, outsourced marketing team, we guarantee we can meet your goals with a tailor-made marketing solution.
Visit our website to learn more, or call us at 262-751-1634 to get started today!
