SEM (Search engine marketing)
What is SEM (Search Engine Marketing)?
SEM is the acronym for Search Engine Marketing, that is, marketing on search engines.
SEM is the set of tools, techniques and strategies that allow us to appear in the top positions of search results, which requires paying according to the search engine’s terms.
In other words, SEM consists of designing paid ad campaigns on search engines that are shown alongside the organic search results (results that are not paid for and hold their position thanks to SEO).
1. SEM: Auction model
The SEM campaigns run to place ads on search engines, whatever the search engine, were all based on an auction model, in which the cost per click, or CPC, is especially important. That is, the advertiser only pays each time a user who runs a search clicks on their ad.
The CPC set by the advertiser is not the only factor that decides whether the auction goes to one advertiser or another. Although it carries weight, in this kind of auction the relevance of the ad’s content and how well it matches the keywords the user searched for also weigh heavily.
In other words, paying the most doesn’t guarantee that your ad will be the one shown. Therefore, creating relevant ads that are as optimized as possible lowers the CPC of the SEM campaign and makes it more profitable.
2. Advantages of working with SEM
Below we list the main advantages of using SEM, one of the most important online marketing methods, with very good results if you know how to work with it properly.
- It drives traffic to our website. This puts us in a position to achieve our goals (whatever we set for the SEM campaign), such as generating leads, selling products or services, improving brand awareness, promoting an event, etc.
- “Immediate” ranking. While SEO ranking takes time before we appear in the top search positions, running an SEM campaign puts you straight into the top positions of the results as soon as you launch it.
- Wide segmentation options. Because they allow many kinds of segmentation (age, gender, interests, interactions, etc.), SEM campaigns are more effective and let us reach the users we want to impact.
- Immediate results. Generally, as soon as you launch an SEM campaign, you can start to see whether or not it is profitable; real-time metrics are the key to this.
- Extensive customization options. SEM campaigns can be modified in real time to fine-tune them by changing whatever is needed: segmentation, location, bids, budget, etc.
- Flexible budget. The budget assigned to an SEM campaign can be changed at any time, either to increase or decrease it, with no minimum required.
3. Most popular search engines for SEM
There is life beyond Google, so when it comes to running SEM campaigns you should consider other search engines too, since they can also give us a good ROI. The three most popular solutions are:
- Google Ads. It is the main player in Spain, as it accounts for most searches, and using it is essential.
- Microsoft Advertising or Bing Ads. It ranks second by audience and offers very good segmentation options and ease of use.
- Yahoo Advertising or Yahoo Ads. This is Yahoo’s offering, which is not as popular in Spain as it once was, but it certainly makes it easy for you to reach users very effectively.
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