What Is SEM in Digital Marketing?
New to SEM? This article covers everything you need to know to understand it better.
In short, it stands for Search Engine Marketing (also known as PPC or Paid Search). It is a form of online paid advertising.
What Is The Primary Goal of SEM & What Is It Used for?
The goal of SEM is to rank your website/landing page at the very top of the 1st page of Google.
This is beneficial because it promotes brand visibility, drives clicks and traffic to your site.
After users click into your website, you’ll have the chance to convert them into leads, prospects or sales.
That’s the key which makes SEM (PPC) such a unique digital marketing tactic.
What Are The Differences Between PPC, SEO & SEM?
SEM is the umbrella term for both SEO and PPC. This is the textbook definition of SEM.
But, in real life, whenever you hear someone say ‘SEM’, they are often referring to PPC only. (Not both SEO and PPC)
Here’s a brief description of SEO and PPC to help you understand better:
SEO
- SEO is a digital marketing tactic that helps you to rank your website organically on Google’s search results.
- This means you don’t have to pay Google in order to appear in the search results.
- But you’ll have to work hard and use tactics to get to the top position on the 1st page of Google for people to see your website.
PPC
- PPC is a pricing model that Google uses to charge advertisers.
- Whoever advertisers their website on Google is an advertiser.
- How PPC works: the advertiser will pay Google each time someone clicks on their ad.
How Does SEM / PPC Work?
Now that we’ve established what SEM is, let’s go deeper into how it works.
When you launch an SEM campaign, your website will appear above the organic results.
Paid Search results will have the label, “Sponsored”, on the top left (picture below).
In general, SEM involves the following components:
> Keyword Targeting
- SEM relies on keywords that you can use to create relevant content and ads to attract your audience.
- To do this, you’ll need to possess solid knowledge on the different types of keyword intent.
- This is because not all keywords are useful for your brand.
> Keyword Bidding
- You can bid on keywords that users might search for in Google.
- So, when users type in those keywords, your ad that is related to the search query will appear at the top or bottom of Google’s results page.
> Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
- PPC is a pricing model that SEM uses, where you’ll need to pay whenever someone clicks on your ad.
Got a better idea of how SEM works?
We’ll talk about the 3 types of Google Ads below to help you run a holistic SEM campaign successfully.
3 Different Types of Google Ads (Pay-Per-Click Advertising):
1. Search Ads
Search Ads appear either at the very top or bottom of Google’s search results page when someone types in a query.
2. Shopping Ads
These types of ads can appear in the search results page and Google’s Shopping tab.
3. Local Ads
Such type of ads allows you to promote your Google Business Profile (GBP) on the search results page or Google’s Map Pack Listings.
7 Profitable Benefits of Using PPC / Paid Search In Your Marketing Strategy
1. Immediate Visibility
Get almost instant visibility for your business.
As mentioned above, SEM allows your ads to appear at the top of Google’s results pages as soon as your campaign goes live.
2. Highly Targeted Audience
You can target your audience precisely using these settings in Google Ad’s dashboard:
- Keywords
- Demographics
- Interests
- Gender
- Location and more.
Why is this beneficial? Well, you are getting your money’s worth.
3. Retargeting
You can retarget users who have interacted with your brand before.
This helps to increase the chances of converting them into leads or sales.
Does retargeting sound interesting to you? Or do you think it’ll help your business?
Reach out to us via WhatsApp below, to see how we can help your brand grow with our Google Ads Services in KL.
4. Pay Only After You Get Results
With SEM, you only pay after someone clicks on your ad (Pay-Per-Click or PPC).
That’s the first objective, isn’t it? Which is to get the user to click on your ad.
So, you’re getting what you paid for, that is, visibility.
If people cannot see your ad, that means they wouldn’t have been able to see your site in the first place.
Hence, a lack of brand awareness and exposure.
5. Measurable Results (ROI)
Track and measure almost every aspect of your campaign in real-time such as:
- Clicks
- Impressions
- Leads
- Conversions and more
6. Flexible Budgeting
SEM campaigns can be run on a flexible budget.
This gives you more control over things such as setting campaign budgets.
You can also set daily or monthly spending caps, and adjust your budget based on the performance of your campaign, ensuring cost control.
All this will help you to budget your spendings better, so that you won’t be spending more money than you originally intended.
7. Enhanced Brand Awareness
Even if users don’t click on your ad in the search results.
They’ll at least notice your brand name there. This helps to improve brand awareness and also lead to brand recall.
Especially if they’ve seen your ads as well in other places like billboards, brochures, radio ads, etc.
This makes them more likely to purchase from you.
This is because people are more likely to trust brands they repeatedly see on SERPs.
Contact Us for Top Digital Marketing Services in Malaysia Today
Interested to try out SEM / PPC as a marketing tactic to grow your brand?
Contact us via WhatsApp below, and our Specialists will reach out to you asap!
Even if you’re not ready to join us, we’d still love to go out for a cup of coffee with you sometime, to see how we can help. ☕
“I’m Still Not Ready. I Want More Time To Do My Research First!”
If you still want to do more of your own research, you can check out these 2 options below.
So that you can decide which of our digital marketing services in Malaysia best suits your brand.
- Option 1: Explore Our Google Ads Package in Malaysia
- Want to learn more about our PPC services and Google Ads Package plan?
- Check out our Google Search Ads (PPC) services and package plan here.
- Option 2: Not Interested in SEM? Check Out Our SEO Package in Malaysia
- If you’ve decided SEM isn’t the right choice for your business, then maybe you can try SEO.
- Our clients think we’re the best SEO company in Malaysia.
Curious to learn why they think so? Check out our agency’s SEO package and services here.
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