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Search Engine
Marketing

SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING (SEM) is one of the most cost-effective lead-generation tactics. It’s also one of the most accountable, in that the search engines offer in-depth data about the performance of your SEM ads. You can use this data to your benefit to analyze your results and to measure the success of your SEM campaign.

In addition, search engine marketing is one of the most scalable lead-generation tactics. You can start an SEM campaign with as little as $50 and get results very quickly. If your early SEM efforts show promise, you can easily scale up your campaign to post additional ads and increase your results. If search engine marketing isn’t already in your menu of lead-generation tactics, you should make it a staple of any future lead-generation campaigns.

SEM enables you to serve up an ad for any search result on a search engine. In general, when someone uses keywords to search for a product or service (e.g., “security cameras,” “light industrial staffing services”), the search engine presents them with a list of organic search results. But search engine marketing ads related to that search term also appear in the ad spaces above and to the right-hand side of the organic search results. Usually, two or three ads appear above the organic results list, while another 5 to 10 appear in the right margins of the webpage.

Search engine marketing may help you to attract customers in your target audience who are ready to buy, or who may have a reason to buy soon. A potential customer who accesses your SEM ad on a search engine is actively searching for your type of product or service. If you place an ad on the search engine, you may be able to place your product or service in their consideration set. At the very least, you will achieve brand exposure. Potential customers will be aware that your company and its products or services exist.