If you’re new to the digital marketing sphere, you might probably be overwhelmed with the types of marketing strategies available to your business.
There are many different avenues for you to explore because the scope of digital marketing is so vast. There’s mobile marketing, which focuses on marketing on smartphones, apps, and other handheld gadgets, then there’s social media marketing, which focuses on reaching audiences through Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites, content marketing, which relies on creating high-value content for audiences, and so much more.
Because of the ephemeral yet ever-evolving nature of digital technologies, new techniques and strategies are constantly evolving and being refined. One example of a competitive field whose game changes relatively quickly is that of search engines. Search engine marketing, or SEM for short, is one of two popular marketing strategies that involve the use of search engines.
Wait, how do you market on a search engine?
You’ll be surprised by the sheer variety of creative ways that people are marketing nowadays. SEO and SEM companies provide you with a range of services that aim to optimise your website and make your business more likely to rank higher on search results.
If you’re wondering what the benefits of ranking highly in results can bring, you might not have considered the sheer power that search engines hold. We use sites like Google and Bing almost every day to find even the most mundane of information, including local places to get food and drinks, look up stock prices, buy things on the internet, and many more.
The value that the services of SEM agencies can bring you is immense. Since we use search engines as a starting point of our journey through various websites, ranking highly when certain popular keywords are inputted means that there is a bigger chance for your online website to be noticed. Many businesses have reported a significant increase in site traffic when they utilise SEO and SEM techniques to market on Google and other sites.
SEO vs SEM: two similar yet different approaches
Just a quick sidetrack here for those who might be interested in knowing the difference between SEO and SEM. SEO, or search engine optimisation, is an acronym for all marketing strategies using organic tactics. SEM, on the other hand, utilises a combination of paid ads and other promotions.
While both are different, they’re crucial to your business in many ways. SEM is great for attracting clients and customers to your website quickly, and reaching your target market in a shorter amount of time, and SEO is great for improving your search rankings gradually over a period of time and gaining brand reputation.
Search engines are a powerful marketing tool that you can use to get ahead of the game. If you’re not searching for great SEO and SEM vendors for your business, you’re missing out on a great marketing opportunity.
Focusing on SEM
SEO delivers you great long-term results. If you want to boost your marketing efforts with much better results in a shorter amount of time, then you should definitely focus on SEM. SEM is great for exposing your brand to new customers and those who have not heard of your company yet.
How does one market on search engines?
While having a marketing budget for search engine marketing is great, money isn’t just the answer when it comes to successful marketing campaigns. It might seem deceptively easy to promote your content on search engines, but it’s not that straightforward. That’s why many companies still make use of third-party SEM companies to help them brainstorm strategies.
Doing your research is crucial to marketing on search engines. Fortunately, Google makes it so much easier for you to track metrics and other important statistics. Search engine marketing can also be a better investment than many traditional forms of marketing for you in the long run because some types of ads aren’t paid unless they are interacted with (for example, pay per click), but they can still be risky if you do not know how to budget your money wisely.
Want to know about some great tips for learning how to get good SEM services? Here are some of the dos and don’ts when it comes to search engine marketing.
SEM dos and don’ts
Do: Track your SEM campaign on a regular basis. Don’t just pay for the ad and expect great results. The great thing about SEM is that you can closely monitor your ad rankings and statistics as closely and as long as you want. Take note of the keywords which make your ad do well and figure out which advertisements are doing better. This will enable you to get much better results next time you try to market.
Don’t: Ignore what the competition is doing. Is your website or content not doing as well as a competitor’s? It’s good to focus on your own goals, but ignoring what a competitor is doing might just become your Achilles’ heel. If they’re ranking higher than you in search results, it may mean that more people are clicking through to their website. This is a problem that you have to remedy.
Do: Develop a strategy before paying for anything. It’s highly recommended that you look for the services of an experienced third-party SEM company before you do anything else. They can help you develop a strategy that has a higher chance of success, meaning you won’t lose as much money in your investment and get better results.
Don’t: Forget to link-build and create relevant landing pages for keywords. Convincing someone to click through isn’t the end goal here, it’s to encourage them to be interested and interact with more of your content. How will you do that with a website full of broken links or low-quality content?
Looking for SEM services and other types of digital marketing here in Singapore? Contact OOm, a leading digital marketing agency, today!
