For businesses, budgets can be tight. One of the things most prone to being cut, is the marketing budget. This is unfortunate since this can be fatal to a business. Without marketing, nobody is aware that your business exists except your current clients. There will be a downturn in the number of new clients being generated, which then affects the bottom line profits. It is a dangerous thing to cut your marketing expenditures.
However, that does not mean that you shouldn’t review your marketing and attempt to get the best return on your investments (ROI). You may want look at what you’re doing now and see if it is effect or if you should try a new type of marketing for your business. Here we look at Search Engine Marketing or SEM. We will consider how it can help your business and why it is so important these days.
Direct Response
The objectives of SEM are to either create traffic to your site or better leads for potential new clients. People use search engines to find just about anything – products, services, answers, etc. You can target these people through SEM by making your business visible to during searches and directing traffic to your site. From there it is up to your site to convert them into custom, so your site will need some proper attention, too.
Intent
The intent behind each search is crucial to SEM. Understanding the intent can mean that you can adjust your ads and landing pages to suit the customer accordingly. For example, experts at TrafficSource search engine marketing can identify the best SEM strategies based on your company’s goals and the types of products or services you sell.
Be Seen
SEM gets you seen. This can be through SEO services or Pay Per Click (PPC). It isn’t enough to simply have a website, it has to be found, otherwise it is like having a physical store that nobody ever walks or drives past. SEM makes your site more visible and the more visible it becomes, the more business you are likely to do. Site traffic is great, but good site traffic is even better. SEM gets you the right traffic.
Precision
Billions of searches are done, and you needn’t worry about most of these. However, when the “right” search is done, SEM can ensure that your site can be found through precision targeting. This can be in terms of products, geographical location, etc. or even linked to the time of day.
Detail
You can accumulate data by the bucket load, but the devil is always in the detail. The use of cookies can identify user behavioural traits, including surfing habits. From this you can see what has and hasn’t been working with the SEM and adjust it accordingly. You can also focus on conversion rates from leads generated, to see whether or not they too need refocusing. Quite literally you’ll be able to find out just about anything!
SEM has grown in effectiveness as the use of search engines has boomed. You are now able to target specific users based on their demographics rather than rely on growing business organically. To not engage in SEM would, therefore, seem somewhat foolish. All you have to ask yourself is now, when do I start.
