Quick guide to improving search engine marketing performance

Search engine marketing (SEM) is a great way for businesses of all sizes to increase their online visibility and drive more traffic to their website. In this guide, we’ll break down the basics of SEM and show you how to get started with your own campaigns.

First things first, what is SEM? Simply put, it’s the process of using paid advertising to appear at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) for specific keywords. This can be done through a variety of platforms, including Google Ads and Bing Ads.

Keyword Research

The first step in creating a SEM campaign is to do keyword research. This involves identifying the keywords that your target audience is searching for and that are relevant to your business. You can use keyword research tools such as Google Keyword Planner to help you with this.

Here are some tips to help you conduct keyword research:

  1. Understand your target audience: Before you start researching keywords, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your target audience. This includes demographics such as age, gender, and location, as well as their interests and pain points.
  2. Use keyword research tools: There are several free and paid keyword research tools available that can help you identify relevant keywords. Some popular options include Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and SEMrush.
  3. Look at your competitors: Analyze your competitors’ websites and see what keywords they’re targeting. This can give you an idea of the keywords that are working well in your industry.
  4. Use long-tail keywords: Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases that are less competitive and easier to rank for. They also tend to be more specific to what the user is searching for.
  5. Consider the user intent: When conducting keyword research, think about the intent behind the search. Are people looking for information, to compare products or to make a purchase?
  6. Analyze search volume and competition: Use keyword research tools to check how many people are searching for a particular keyword and how much competition there is for it.
  7. Use question keywords: People often search in the form of questions, so include keywords that are phrased as questions.
  8. Use negative keywords: Negative keywords are the keywords that you don’t want your ad to show up for. This helps you to refine your targeting and avoid irrelevant traffic.
  9. Keep your keywords updated: As your business and industry changes, so do the keywords that are relevant to you. Keep your keyword list updated regularly.

 

By following these tips, you can create a comprehensive list of keywords that will help you create a successful SEM campaign and reach your target audience.

Setting up your campaign for success

Once you have a list of keywords, you’ll need to set up your campaign. This involves creating ad groups, writing ad copy, and setting up targeting options such as location and demographics.

Structuring your Google campaigns and ad groups in an organized and effective way can help improve your search engine marketing (SEM) performance and return on investment (ROI). Here are some best practices for structuring your Google campaigns and ad groups:

  1. Organize by product or service: Group your campaigns by the products or services that you are offering. This will make it easier to track the performance of each product or service and make adjustments as needed.
  2. Use specific and descriptive naming conventions: Use specific and descriptive names for your campaigns and ad groups to make it easier to identify and track them.
  3. Use ad groups to segment by keywords: Use ad groups to segment your keywords by theme or topic. This will allow you to create more targeted ad copy and landing pages.
  4. Use single keyword ad groups (SKAGs): Single keyword ad groups (SKAGs) allow you to create ad groups with only one keyword. This helps you to create highly targeted ad copy and landing pages.
  5. Utilize ad extensions: Utilize ad extensions such as site links, callouts, and structured snippets to give users more options to interact with your ads.
  6. Use negative keywords: Use negative keywords to prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant search queries.
  7. Monitor and adjust your bids: Monitor your bids and adjust them as needed to ensure that your ads are showing in the most profitable positions.
  8. Test different ad copy: Test different ad copy to see what resonates with your audience and improves your click-through rate (CTR).
  9. Test different landing pages: Test different landing pages to see which ones have the highest conversion rate.

 

By following these best practices, you can create a well-structured and effective Google campaign that will help you reach your target audience and achieve your business goals.

How to determine your campaign budget

Next, you’ll need to set a budget for your campaign. This will determine how much you’re willing to spend on each click or impression. It’s important to set a realistic budget that you can stick to.

When determining the budget for a search engine marketing (SEM) campaign, there are several factors to consider. These include:

  • Target audience: The size and reach of your target audience will affect the budget needed for your campaign. A larger and more targeted audience will require a larger budget.
  • Keywords: The competitiveness and cost-per-click (CPC) of the keywords you are targeting will also affect your budget. Highly competitive keywords with high CPCs will require a larger budget.
  • Industry and competition: The industry you are in and the level of competition will also affect your budget. Industries with high competition will require a larger budget to compete.
  • Campaign goals: The goals of your campaign, such as increasing brand awareness or driving sales, will also affect your budget. If your goals are more ambitious, you will need a larger budget to achieve them.
  • Platform: The platforms you are advertising on, such as Google Ads or Bing Ads, will also affect your budget. Some platforms may require a higher budget to be effective.
  • Ad formats: The ad formats you are using, such as text ads, display ads, or video ads, will also affect your budget. Some ad formats may be more expensive than others.
  • Seasonality: The time of year can also affect the budget, some months may be more expensive than others.
  • Location: The location of your target audience and the cost of advertising in that area will also affect your budget.

 

By considering these factors, you can determine how much budget you will need to allocate to your SEM campaign in order to achieve your business goals. However, budget is not the only variable to consider when measuring the success of a campaign, it is important to track other key performance indicators (KPIs) as well.

Measuring performance

Once your campaign is up and running, it’s important to monitor its performance. This includes tracking metrics such as click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and return on ad spend (ROAS). By analyzing this data, you can make adjustments to your campaign to improve its performance.

When determining the performance of a paid search engine marketing (SEM) campaign, there are several key metrics to track:

  1. Click-through rate (CTR): The ratio of clicks to impressions, which measures how often users click on your ads. A higher CTR indicates that your ad copy and targeting are effective.
  2. Cost-per-click (CPC): The amount you pay for each click on your ad. A lower CPC indicates that your ad is more cost-effective.
  3. Conversion rate: The percentage of users who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form, after clicking on your ad. A higher conversion rate indicates that your ads are effectively converting users into customers.
  4. Return on ad spend (ROAS): The return on investment (ROI) of your ad spend. It is calculated by dividing the revenue generated by the cost of the campaign.
  5. Quality Score: This is a metric assigned by Google Ads that rates the relevance and performance of your keywords, ad copy, and landing pages. Quality Score is used to determine ad placement and cost.
  6. Impressions: The number of times your ad is shown to users. This metric can give you insight into the reach of your ad campaign.
  7. Bounce rate: The percentage of visitors who leave your website after only viewing one page. A higher bounce rate indicates that your landing page may not be effectively engaging users.
  8. Time on site: The amount of time a user spends on your website. A longer time on site may indicate that users are finding the content on your website engaging.

 

By monitoring these metrics, you can gain a better understanding of how your SEM campaign is performing and make adjustments as needed to improve its effectiveness.

Finally, it’s important to test different ad copy, ad formats, and targeting options to see what works best for your business. The beauty of SEM is that you can make changes to your campaign in real-time and see the results instantly.

SEM can seem daunting at first, but with a little bit of research and experimentation, you can create a campaign that drives more traffic to your website and generates more leads and sales for your business.