Sometimes it seems like all digital terms are acronyms, right? SEO, SEM, CPC, CPM… And at first glance, we would think that these contain hidden meanings that only experts can understand.
Fortunately, that’s not true! And today you’re about to find out, as you’ll learn what SEM is, its advantages, disadvantages, and some key concepts you need to know to implement it and put your brand in the spotlight of the digital scene .
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- What is SEM?
- Advantages of SEM
- Disadvantages of SEM
- SEM and SEO: What are the differences?
- 12 essential concepts for creating a SEM strategy
- How to make a SEM strategy?
- How to combine SEM and SEO strategies?
- Conclusion
What is SEM?
The acronym SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing. sweden telegram data In theory, it encompasses all actions aimed at positioning your brand in search engines, including SEO (the optimization of pages to obtain a better position in the organic results of search engines).
In practice, SEM refers only to paid advertising campaigns on search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo .
SEM helps improve brand visibility and direct qualified audiences to your website (people who meet specific characteristics) quickly.
For practical purposes, from now on we will continue to refer to SEM as a paid advertising tool
Advantages of SEM
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- It works faster than SEO , giving you ruthann walton owner short- and medium-term results. On the other hand, SEO works in the long term (although it still needs to be implemented).
- SEM allows you to segment and bring only the audience that interests you to your website.
- Helps increase your brand visibility.
- SEM tools like Google Adwords allow you to generate and measure conversions, monitor your campaigns in real time and make adjustments.
- You can set small budgets. You decide how much you want to spend each day and how much you want to pay for each click on your ad.
- In addition to appearing in search engine results, you can also appear on websites that have some relation to your brand.
Disadvantages of SEM
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- Unlike SEO, SEM is an interruptive practice , cob directory as it provides information not requested by the user.
- Those who use ad blockers may not see your content.
- It only works as long as you pay. That’s why you need to define very well how much you are going to invest.
- There are many brands competing for the same keywords. This increases costs and makes it increasingly difficult to position yourself.
SEM and SEO: What are the differences?
Expenses for positioning in search engines
Up to this point in the reading we understand that SEM is known as the publications that appear in the first positions of search engines and in which the advertiser pays for each click received from users.
SEO, on the other hand, is more about the work done on the website to optimize its content and ensure greater visibility in search engines.
Speed of results
One of the main differences is the time it takes to see results. Obviously, since it is a paid tool, SEM generates results immediately.
However, if you stop paying, you stop seeing those strategic changes. However, when you apply SEO, the strategy begins to yield results over a longer period of time.
Predictability of performance
The way of controlling these tools is also different.
With SEM it is easier to establish investment guidelines, launch campaigns or remove them from circulation at any time we decide because, of course, we are paying to have control.
With SEO, you can control the strategy you use and the content you generate, but you don’t have the ability to accurately measure whether you’re on the right track or not.
Scope of investment
Investment costs are also different for these two positioning tools.
As we have already said, SEM is a paid tool, the user has to make an investment in the search engine to be able to generate their campaigns.
SEO, on the other hand, does not require financial investment but rather creative investment, since good positioning is achieved naturally and thanks to search engine algorithms.
Search Engine Ranking
These two strategies also differ in their position in search engines.
Publications that have a SEM strategy generally appear published at the top of the portal or on its right side and are often identified as advertisements.
As for SEO posts, they appear in the central area of the page.
Managing keywords
Keywords and published content also vary depending on the Digital Marketing tool used.
In the case of SEM positioning, it is much simpler because there are no limits to choosing the keywords to use and in terms of content, it must be more precise and related to the chosen keywords and a structure that denotes sales intent.
In the case of SEO, there are limitations regarding the number of keywords to choose to achieve good positioning and in terms of content, it is essential to have quality material that is interesting and attractive to the reader.
12 essential concepts for creating a SEM strategy
1. Adwords
It is a Google tool that allows you to do paid advertising on the Internet. You can create ads to appear in Google search results or on web pages that are related to keywords.
2. Keyword
These are the words and/or phrases that are typed into the search engine when performing a search.
The search engine returns the results that are most closely related to that keyword, so you must choose carefully which terms you want to be found with. Use tools to find keywords such as the Google Keyword Planner.
3. Ad group
These are several ads that respond to the same group of keywords.
For example, if you own a fashion store and want to promote a new line of dresses, you can choose several keywords and create several ads for this purpose. This allows you to analyze which ad is most effective.
4. Campaign
Campaigns are made up of ad groups. Continuing with the fashion store example, a campaign would consist of an ad group for dresses, another for pants, and another for blouses.
5. Search network
These are the places where your ads will appear.
It can be at the top or right of the results page, on Google sites (Google Play, Google Shopping and Google Maps) or on Google Display Network search partners, such as YouTube.
6. Impressions
This is the number of times your ads are shown. Each time your ad appears in Google search results or on another site in the search network, it is considered an impression.
7. Clicks
The number of times your ad banners are clicked. These allow you to see whether a particular ad is attractive to those viewing it.
8. CTR
9. Daily budget
It is the maximum amount you are willing to pay each day. It depends entirely on you.
10. CPC Bids
CPC stands for Cost Per Click. It is the average amount you are willing to pay for each click on your ads. You can set a maximum CPC to avoid going over your daily budget.
You have the option to choose between manual or automatic CPC bidding.
In the latter case, Google adjusts the maximum CPC for you to get the most clicks possible from your daily budget.
We recommend focusing on a CPC bid type if you are looking to drive traffic to your website.