What Is SEM?

SEM, or search engine marketing, is the act of using paid strategies to increase search visibility.
In the past, search engine marketing was a term used to describe both search engine
optimization (SEO) and paid search. But now, it almost always refers only to paid search
marketing.

With SEM, brands pay for ads to appear as search results on search engine results pages
(SERPs). They target select keywords so that when a user searches for those terms, they see an
ad from the brand. The brand is charged only if a user clicks on the ad.

Paid search ads can be found on almost any search results page. These paid placements are
typically located at the top and bottom of the page. They include an “Ad” designation to let users
know that it is a paid placement.

Some paid search ads may also appear as products in a featured carousel.
Therefore, search engine marketing consists of a series of tools, techniques and strategies
aimed at optimizing search engine advertising, appearing in the top positions, getting lower costs
per click, and maximizing conversions from these ads. The most well known and widely used SEM
platform is Google Ads, but there are other solutions, such as Bing Ads, for example.

Search Engine Marketing Concepts

• Keywords: these are the terms that users enter into search engines that prompt a particular ad or

search result to be shown. They do not have to be individual words. In fact, it is common to use

groups of words or phrases, such as "buy Nike shoes" or "what is the best accounting software."

• Concordance: when setting up a campaign in Google Ads, you will need to define the degree of

correspondence between the keywords you have selected and the terms that people use when

typing a query into a search engine. This is known as "concordance." For example, if you opt for a

broad match, the ad will be displayed when the user searches for synonyms or terms similar to the
keyword. If you opt for an exact match, the ad will appear only when the user enters a specific

keyword in the search engine.

• Text ad: this is the standard type of ad that is shown in search engines, although today there are

a variety of options such as shopping ads. Text ads usually include a title, a visible URL that can

be customized, and a short description.

• Ad group: in Google Ads, an ad group consists of several ads that feature the same keywords.

This way, you can see which of them are the most effective.

• Campaign: in Google Ads, the campaign is like the "umbrella" under which different ad groups

with similar goals are organized. For example, if you sell school supplies online one campaign

could include ad groups featuring textbooks, another could have backpacks and a third could

focus on drawing materials.

• Landing page: this is the web page the user is directed to after clicking on an advertisement. To

achieve good results with search engine marketing, this page must be optimized to get

conversions and prompt users to take certain actions (like completing a form to download an

ebook). The keywords, the ad shown, and the landing page should all be aligned to ensure a good

user experience.

• Search Network: these are the places where your ads appear. The most common option is on

the top and right of the results page, but you can also show them on other sites such as YouTube.

• Impressions: this refers to the number of times an ad was shown.

• Clicks: are the number of times an ad has been clicked on

• CTR: is the percentage of clicks on total impressions.

• CPC: is the average cost per click.

• Quality Score: this is the score that Google gives ads and keywords which influences your cost

per click. This score is determined based on the relevance of the ad, the percentage of clicks

obtained, and the experience of the landing page. The objective of this system is for higher quality

ads to occupy higher positions and have a lower cost per click.

Why is SEM important?

With an increasing number of consumers researching and shopping for products online, search
engine marketing has become a crucial online marketing strategy for increasing a company’s reach.
 In fact, the majority of new visitors to a website find it by performing a query on a search engine.

In search engine marketing, advertisers only pay for impressions that result in visitors, making it an
efficient way for a company to spend its marketing dollars. As an added bonus, each visitor
incrementally improves the website’s rankings in organic search results.

Since consumers enter search queries with the intent of finding information of a commercial nature,
they are in an excellent state of mind to make a purchase, compared to other sites such as social
media where users are not explicitly searching for something.

Search marketing reaches consumers at exactly the right time: when they are open to new
information. Unlike the majority of digital advertising, PPC advertising is non-intrusive and does not
interrupt their tasks.

Results are immediate with SEM. It is arguably the fastest way to drive traffic to a website.

How SEM works

Search engines use complicated algorithms to ensure the most relevant results are returned for each
search, including location and other available information.

In paid search advertising, sponsored ads appear at the top of and on the side of search engine
results pages to gain more visibility and prominence than the organic results.

Let’s say that you are a customer looking for a product or service online. You go to a search engine
and type in your search terms (also known as keywords).

In your search results page, you will come across various company ads whose keywords match the
keywords in your search.

These ads appear in prominent locations on the page – along with the other search listings that
match your keywords. The paid listings are highly relevant to your specific search, making it likely that
you will click on them.

Now let’s take a look at how SEM campaigns work from the marketer’s perspective.

SEM networks are self-serve operations. Once a marketer selects a network, they can get a
campaign up within a short period of time.

When setting up a campaign within an SEM network, the marketer is prompted to:

• Conduct keyword research and select a set of keywords related to their website or product
• Select a geographic location for the ad to be displayed within
• Create a text-based ad to display in the search results
• Bid on a price they are willing to pay for each click on their ad

Text-only ads are easy to produce. Marketers enter a headline, text for the body of the ad, a call-to-
action and a URL for the hyperlink.

Search engine marketing is considered by many to be the most efficient way to spend marketing
dollars.
How A/B testing can complement SEM

Since you are already making an investment in search engine marketing to bring traffic to your
website, it is a worthwhile effort to optimize that traffic for conversions and increase the efficiency of
your spending.

A/B testing your landing pages is an easy way to maximize your spend, either by optimizing
for average order value or revenue per page.

Optimizing your landing page can increase your Quality Score with search engine marketing
networks, thus reducing your average CPC.

Optimizely – and other platforms like it – can help you easily structure and implement your A/B tests,
offering real-time results to give you confidence in your business decisions. Optimizely has
integrations with popular ad networks such as Google Adwords and Facebook that make setting up
ad-related experiments quick and easy.

SEM Platforms
An SEM platform is a search engine where a brand can place search ads that are displayed when
users perform a search. The most common SEM platforms are Google and Bing.

• Google Ads is the most widely used SEM platform. Billions of Google searches are
performed a day, so it can help you get in front of the largest online audience.
• Bing Ads claims to connect with 3 million searchers that Google can’t reach. By serving
ads on partner sites such as Yahoo and MSN, Bing Ads help you connect with searchers
who aren’t exclusively using Google for search.

Types of SEM Keywords

SEM keywords are the terms and phrases that you target in your search engine marketing
campaigns. When users search for those keywords, they see your ads. For example, if your
campaign targets the term “virtual assistant,” your ad may show when a user searches for that
phrase.

When you set up an SEM campaign, you choose the keywords you want to target and/or avoid.
There are four types of keywords you can use in your SEM campaigns.

1. Broad match keywords target variations of a term. This includes similar phrases, singular or
plural forms, misspellings, stemming, or synonyms of the target term. For example, when
targeting the broad match keyword virtual assistant, a campaign may also target virtual
assistants, online assistant, and virtual team.
2. Phrase match keywords target the exact phrase, plus any phrases that have words that
come before or after the target keyword. For example, when targeting the phrase match
keyword virtual assistant, a campaign may also target best virtual assistant, find a virtual
assistant, and hire a virtual assistant.
3. Exact match keywords target words that are very closely related to the target term. This
includes misspellings, singular or plural forms, stemmings, abbreviations, reordered words,
paraphrases, or closely related words with the same search intent of the exact match term.
For example, when targeting the exact match keyword virtual assistant, a campaign may also
target virtual assistants, virtual assistance, and virtuals assistant.
4. Negative keywords exclude terms that you don’t want to target. Negative keywords are
variations of broad match, phrase match, and exact match keywords that you don’t want to
use in your campaign. These terms may be semantically related to your keywords but
unrelated to the search intent of the target term, your campaign, or ad copy. Examples of
negative keywords for the target term virtual assistant may include virtual assistant
salary or virtual assistant training. If the ad were trying to target companies looking to hire a
virtual assistant, the intent for those terms wouldn’t be relevant; therefore, they should be
excluded from the campaign.

Type of
Description Example
Keyword

For the target

keyword virtual
assistant, a campaign
Broad Targets variations of a term. This includes similar phrases, singular or
may also target virtual
match plural forms, misspellings, stemmings, or synonyms of the target term.
assistants, online
assistant, and virtual
team.

For the target

keyword virtual
assistant, a campaign
Phrase Targets the exact phrase, plus any phrases that have words that come may also target best
match before or after the target keyword. virtual assistant, find a
virtual assistant,
and hire a virtual
assistant.

For the target

keyword virtual
Targets words that are very closely related to the target term. This
assistant, a campaign
Exact includes misspellings, singular or plural forms, stemmings,
may also target virtual
match abbreviations, reordered words, paraphrases, or closely related words
assistants, virtual
with the same search intent of the exact match term.
assistance, and virtuals
assistant.

Excludes terms that you don’t want to target. Negative keywords are For the target
variations of broad match, phrase match, and exact match keywords keyword virtual
Negative that you don’t want to use in your campaign. These terms may be assistant may
semantically related to your keywords but unrelated to the search include virtual
intent of the target term, your campaign, or ad copy. assistant
 salary or virtual
assistant training.

SEM Targeting
Targeting keywords tells a search platform when to show your ads. SEM targeting takes it one
step further. Through targeting, you set additional parameters for when your ad should show and
who it should show to.

• Location targeting sets ads to only show to people who are within a certain ZIP code or
geographic area.
• Ad schedule targeting sets ads to only show at certain times of the day or during specific
days of the week.
• Demographic targeting sets ads to only show to people who fit certain demographic
categories based on age and gender.
• Device targeting sets ads to only show to users on specific devices such as mobile
phones, desktops, or tablets.

SEM Ad Copy
For the most part, SEM ad copy mimics organic search results. But they also have options for
showing additional information. A standard ad usually includes two headlines, a description, and
a website URL. You can also add:

• Sitelink extensions
• Callout extensions
• Call extensions
• Message extensions
• Location extensions
• Advertiser ratings
• Price extensions
• Structured snippet extensions

What Value Does SEM Add to Your Business?

Generates Highly Qualified Traffic

Generating traffic organically can be a very long and tedious process where the results are only

seen in the long term. Search engine marketing allows you to accelerate this process and get

users to your website from the beginning. In addition, you can be assured that these users are

interested in what you offer, since they themselves have searched for it.
Generates Visibility
Appearing in the top results of Google and other search engines associates your brand with a

specific need even if the user does not click the first time they see it.
Generates Conversions
The ultimate goal of Google Ads and other search engine marketing tools is to improve business

results. To do this, you will need to create optimized landing pages that put users on the path to

conversion.
Gets the Most Out of Your Budget
One of the great advantages of search engine marketing is that it is a suitable solution for

companies of all sizes, since the minimum investment is very affordable. On the ot her hand, if your

brand is growing, you can increase the investment and the complexity of your campaigns to keep

your momentum. Also, since you only pay if you get results (in the form of clicks), you can be sure

that your budget is used effectively.

Gets Measurable Results

Search engine marketing solutions such as Google Ads provide numerous metrics on campaigns

and let you to know what is happening at all times. This way, it is very easy to correct the course if

needed and get better results.

Search engine marketing or SEM has great potential to help companies achieve their goals in a

quick and scalable way. To get the most out of it, it is ideal to have experts who have extensive

experience positioning brands in Google.