SEM or Search Engine Marketing is the cluster of techniques that use search engines to carry out the actions of a business, be it digital, physical or grouping the two models.
When you have questions and people around you can’t solve them, what is your favorite source of research?
If you answered Google, please be aware that this is the common answer for over 90% of Brazilians.
Although not the only mechanism available, it dominates the search of Internet users here and in various parts of the world.
In this scenario, comes the SEM (Searching Engine Marketing, in Portuguese Search Engine Marketing), a set of techniques that aims to use these engines for promotion on the Internet.
In this article, you’ll learn what this strategy is and how it can help grow your business.
What is SEM (Search Engine Marketing)?
SEM or Search Engine Marketing is the cluster of techniques that use search engines to carry out the actions of a business, be it digital, physical or grouping the two models.
However, it is divided into two formats – one free and one paid – covering the capabilities of organizations of all sizes, from small and medium enterprises to large multinationals.
See what they are below.
SEO
The Searching Engine Optimization (in Portuguese, Optimization searches Mechanisms), brings together the strategies that involve the creation of relevant content to attract users to a landing page.
That is, it aims to inform you, delight you and, in the case of business, encourage you to take action – such as signing up for a newsletter, making a purchase, etc.
The Quality Score (IQ) is responsible for ranking, according to page relevance, the placement of the links that will lead to a website.
There are many ranking factors, such as:
Keywords
The choice of keywords to use in articles is very important for search engine algorithms. Therefore, those who intend to invest in this strategy must put themselves in the user’s shoes.
The key question is what words does it choose that are relevant to my business? A good way to find them is through Keyword Planner or SEMrush.
Text Structure
There are several best practices for good placement on Google. The use of the chosen keywords should be in the correct places, such as the title, subtitle, tag, meta tag and distributed wisely throughout the text. This way, the texts become readable for search engines.
Page and content quality
The algorithms tend to benefit pages that have a nice layout, good navigability, a stable page loading speed, etc.
Another ranking factor is the quality of the content. The more specific and thorough the better. How do they measure it? Simple, through the time spent by the user on the site.
Backlinks
Quoting landing pages for your site or blog is another extremely relevant factor for good placement. The backlink technique is considered as SEO Off Page, ie outside the reach of the administrator. But good articles tend to get a lot of referrals. Remember that the higher the relevance of the linked site, the greater the relevance to Google.
Traffic
The higher your landing page traffic, the more visitors, the better and easier your ranking will be. In this case, it might be a good idea to invest in sponsored links, a technique we’ll talk about next.
Sponsored links
Sponsored links are ads, meaning they are part of a paid media tool. You have probably done a search and came across some ad results.
At Google, for example, they usually come before organic results and in the sidebar.
If you don’t know what they look like, you can do a search at any time by entering a business keyword, such as “mobile” or “refrigerator.”
To make use of this strategy, you must sign up for an ad platform, such as Google Adwords or Bing Ads, and enter the card data into which the amounts will be debited.
This strategy often uses click charges, but there are more advanced techniques that allow you to optimize for conversions (sales) or impressions (ad views).
The system used to define which ad to display works as follows: Each time a user searches for the advertised search term, Google will conduct an auction.
Therefore, you need to set the maximum values the advertiser is willing to pay, taking into account factors such as competition and keyword relevance.
Why is SEM important?
There is no doubt that search engines make up a sizable portion of all traffic generated on the internet.
To give you an idea, there are 2.3 million searches performed on Google every second.
This makes it easy to imagine the potential of this tool when it comes to business.
Search engines are, above all, information platforms and, as such, serve as a foundation for users’ queries.
Therefore, they encourage the creation of content on the web, bringing as much knowledge as possible to the Internet.
On the other hand, being the largest online advertising platform in the world, Google is also recognized for its effective business model, which aims to generate profitability for continuous company searches and provide a good user experience.
Tips for doing SEM
Some practices are recommended in Searching Engine Marketing strategies. Below are some of them:
1 – Use the concept of long-tail, that is, specific keywords. Very specific search terms tend to have low search volume and competition, so it is best to invest in longer keywords.
2 – Invest in Google Shopping if your business is a physical store. The results of this tool appear in the Google engine accompanied by the images.
3 – Never take advantage of techniques not recommended, the so-called black hat. That is, keyword repetition practices, titles that do not match the content, etc .;
4 – Analyze data collected by Google Analytics regularly and make modifications to your articles, posts and ads;
5 – Do not forget to use calls to action in SEO strategies. A good CTA can be the difference between the success and failure of your campaign;
6 – Observe competition for a keyword in both sponsored links and organic strategies. Often, you may discover relevant terms in which you can beat opponents.
7 – Always put the user first and try to solve their problems. Remember: SEM strategies should always benefit the user!