As we all know, the Internet has become a big part of consumer’s lives all around the world. People are using the Internet to find, research, and buy every conceivable product and service. Indeed, some products and services are available only on the Internet. Where else do you find a polka-dotted bow tie for your cat? We’ve all heard of Amazon, Ebay, buy.com and a myriad of other sites, but large ecommerce sites are not the only ones who are benefitting. Many small and medium sized businesses that previously served a local market are able to expand nationally and even internationally, thanks to the Internet and Internet Marketing. It’s an enormous market out there and for businesses that reach out and grab a piece, there is nearly no limit to the growth potential. So you have a product or service that people want…how do they find you?
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) allows businesses to show up on page one of the search engines (like Google) anytime someone searches for the things they sell or the things they do. Using a tool like Google AdWords, you can create campaigns based on a list of keywords that consumers use to find you. When consumers type one of your keywords, your text ad (or one of your ads) will show up in Google (or any number of other search engines) and you pay a small fee only when someone clicks on it. Although there are many benefits to this form of advertising, one of the main benefits is cost control. You decide how much you are willing to pay per click and how much budget you want to spend on advertising on a daily basis. You can turn the campaign off at any time, such as during holidays or even certain times of the day when your clicks are less productive. Alternatively, if you are trying to build brand awareness, views of your ad are more important rather than clicks, and you may want to pay per impression. With this type of campaign, your ad can utilize graphics for better visual impact. Whether you choose to pay per impression (CPM) or Pay-Per-Click (PPC) SEM gives you total control over spend and can be very effective in driving relevant, interested prospects to your website.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) gives your business the opportunity to reach out and promote your products, services and website in a way that you control, by selecting keywords and setting a budget for your campaign. With Google AdWords, your business can run text or banner ads, and you choose whether to show these ads on the search network or on other websites that are members of Google’s Content Network. With SEM, you can evaluate performance on a real time basis, looking at the number of impressions and clicks your ads are getting. Analytical tools like Google Analytics, give you additional information about what happens beyond the click. For those people who clicked on your ad, did they visit your contact page, did they become a lead or did they buy something? Tools like these combined with daily reporting enables you to optimize your campaign on an ongoing basis and present your best ad to the best audience at the best time for the right price which with any luck, will exceed your goals. Why not give it a try?
