What Is SEM?
SEM / Search Engine Marketing is a framework of utilizing paid methods to raise search visibility. Years ago, SEM was described as SEO (Search Engine Optimization) & paid search. But today, it's always referred to as paid search marketing.
The brand pays for ads in SEM to pop as search results on SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). They select certain keywords so that when the consumer searches for those keywords, they will see an ad from that particular brand. And the brand will only be charged if the consumer clicks on that ad.
The paid search ads can be discovered on almost any search result page. These paid positions are mostly located at the top and bottom of that page. It includes an 'Ad' title to let the users know that it's a paid placement.
SEM Platforms
An SEM program is a search engine in which they place ads that are shown when the user searches for something. The most common SEM platforms are Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.
- The most commonly used SEM platform is Google Ads. World wide billions of google searches are done in a day, therefore it can help you get visibility among a huge audience online.
- Bing Ads joins 3 million searchers which Google can’t reach. Bing Ads serves ads on partner sites such as Yahoo and MSN, and it helps you to get connected with an audience who aren't using Google more often.
Types Of SEM Keywords
SEM keywords are the words and expressions that you aim for in your search. When somebody searches for those keywords, they will see your ads. For instance, if your campaign aims for the term “laptop case,” your ad will show when a user searches for that phrase.
When you arrange an SEM campaign, you prefer the keywords you need to target /or avoid. There are four kinds of keywords you can apply in your SEM campaigns.
Broad Match Keywords Target
This involves comparable phrases, singular or plural forms, or synonyms of the objective term. For instance, when aiming for the extensive match keyword virtual assistant, a campaign perhaps also targets online assistants, & virtual teams.
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Phrase Match Keywords
Plus any phrases that have words that come before or after the target keyword. For example, when targeting the phrase match keyword school bags, a campaign may also target the best school bags.
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Exact Match Keywords
This involves misspellings, abbreviations, reordered words, paraphrases, or closely related words with the same search intent. For example, when targeting the exact match keyword school bags, a campaign may also target school supplies, books carrier, etc.
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Negative Keywords
Negative keywords are varieties of the wide match, phrase match, and specific match keywords that you won't use in your campaign. These terms may be similarly related to your keywords but irrelevant to the search purpose of the target term, your campaign, or ad copy.
Read MoreSEM Targeting
Aiming specific keywords tells a search platform when to display your ads. But through SEM targeting, you set extra parameters in terms of time and target audience.
Location Targeting
This is to show only to people who are within a specific Pincode or geographic region.
Ad Schedule Targeting
This sets ads to only show at definite times of the day or particular days of the week.
Demographic Targeting
This is to show only to people who match certain demographic sections depending on age and gender.
Device Targeting
This is for users on specific devices such as mobile phones, desktops, or tablets.
Optimize Existing Campaigns
To get the expected and best results, continue to enhance campaigns once they start running.
Add additional related keywords
Analyze the campaigns and include any recommended keywords that might be missing.
Set negative keywords
Review your campaign and exclude keywords that are pulling the wrong type of traffic. Set irrelevant terms as negative keywords.
Utilize A/B testing
Analyze what works and twist your campaigns to get the best combination of targeting, ad copy, keywords, and landing pages. One advantage of SEM is that you can get swift feedback about what works.
Add additional related keywords
Analyze the campaigns and include any recommended keywords that might be missing.
Set negative keywords
Review your campaign and exclude keywords that are pulling the wrong type of traffic. Set irrelevant terms as negative keywords.
Utilize A/B testing
Analyze what works and twist your campaigns to get the best combination of targeting, ad copy, keywords, and landing pages. One advantage of SEM is that you can get swift feedback about what works.