If you are a business owner, or responsible for marketing within your organization, you probably already know the importance of organic content and the implementation of backend Search Engine Optimization (SEO) best practices to your website. After all, people click on organic search results up to 94% of the time, depending on the type of search, industry, and intent of the searcher. What that statistic does not tell you is the difference between the searcher who clicks on an organic listing and one who clicks on a paid listing.
Because your potential customers will see your ads only when they search for your specific products and services, they are much more likely than a casual browser to ultimately purchase. Especially as smartphones become the primary tool used to conduct searches, the ROI that advertisers are experiencing continues to increase year-over-year. So let’s look at some reasons why SEM may be a good addition to your marketing strategy.
- Faster Results – Organic optimization has often been compared to steering a cruise ship: you can reach your goal, but it takes considerable time. This is not the case with paid search. Given the budget and proper strategy, you can appear on page 1 of search results for a given keyword almost immediately. Even if you are already on page one organically, appearing in both areas will ensure you are seen by both types of consumers (those likely to click on a paid search result and those likely to click on the organic result).
- Hyper-Targeted – With virtually all other forms of advertising, you have limited control over who your message is reaching, and how relevant your message is to the consumer of your media. With SEM, though, you know that the person seeing your ad is a consumer that has searched for your product, service, or business. Your bandwidth and budget are not wasted on trying to reach an irrelevant audience. You also know (and control) where the consumer is located, and what time of day they were exposed to your ad.
- Consistent Source of Traffic – Outside of normal seasonality, huge spikes or dips in leads and customers can kill a business. With paid search and paid ads on social media, you control the flow of leads, based on how much you’re willing to pay per click. A seasoned marketer can build a consistent flow that allows for proper planning within your business model.
- Reach – Whether you utilize the power of Google & Bing, or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest, or a combination of all of these, the reach you are able to achieve is unmatched by other media. Brand exposure and consumer education of your products and services become easier when you are reaching a broader, more comprehensive audience.
- Tracking Return on Investment – Unlike many media, with SEM, you are able to very accurately track the effectiveness of every campaign, tying every visit, call, email, and sale to every penny you spend. Achieving a larger return becomes less art, and more science, given your controls over targeting, budget, reach, etc. This is not to remove the “art” aspect of advertising, as you still have to have the desired message, communicated effectively, and managed appropriately.
Hopefully, now you see the advantages of adding paid search, social media advertising, and remarketing, and the value that they can bring to your marketing strategy. While there is still value in other forms of advertising and in “word-of-mouth” referrals, not taking advantage of these tools would be a mistake for most businesses. Whether you need to increase the overall number of customers, clients, or patients, or you need to hone in on a specific audience or market need, search engine marketing and social media advertising can be powerful tools in achieving your business goals.
Written by Brady Anderson
Brady Anderson is a Business Development and Account Manager at Kaufer DMC. He’s originally from Texas and enjoys singing in local acapella groups. He lives in Mountlake Terrace with his wife and son.
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