SEM campaigns: How to take advantage of Google Ads to attract more customers

Today we want to talk to you about the SEM campaigns , how they work and what is their importance. Everyone knows that any business today must have a website and Internet presence. But showing up is not enough. The benefits come when the web appears positioned in the top positions in Google search engines. When a person makes a query on the web, he looks at the results on the first page at most. Beyond that, it is practically as if the web did not exist. To improve this visibility and positioning, having knowledge of search engine marketing strategies can be essential, which is known as SEM strategies.

 

What is an SEM campaign?

A SEM (Search Engine Marketing) campaign is an advertising strategy that consists of generate search engine ads like Google in order to position ourselves in the first positions of results. In general, we can refer to SEM as the set of tools, techniques and strategies that help to optimize the visibility of sites and web pages through search engines.

 

SEM campaigns show your website as if it were an organic search result. Ads appear in the first four and last three results of each search engine page, which allows you to get a preferential place among search results in a much shorter time than it would take an organic positioning campaign.

 

Although there are different platforms, SEM is generally associated with doing advertising in Google Ads, since it has become the most used platform in the world of online advertising.

 

In addition, it must be taken into account that although the SEO and SEM terms they are always used separately, they are actually two techniques that must be combined. This means that, in order to create a successful SEM campaign , you should also have experience and knowledge in organic positioning strategies.

 

The importance of appearing in the top positions of Google with an SEM campaign

Currently, many users, before buying or hiring a service, look on the Internet. And for this, they usually use the browser par excellence, Google. Due, What happens if a company does not appear in the top positions of Google? When a company does not have a presence or weight on the Internet, it is simply as if it does not exist. Thus, getting a good positioning is one of the most prominent objectives of a digital marketing plan.

In fact, the vast majority of Google users do not go beyond the first page to find relevant results for their search. What’s more, according to a study by searchenginewatch , the first page of Google results absorbs 92% of the traffic, that is, only 8 out of 100 users go beyond the first page. Have a optimized and active SEM campaign It guarantees us to be able to obtain visibility and attract qualified traffic from these first positions of the search engine.

 

10 tips to optimize your SEM campaigns with Google Ads

For many companies Google Ads It is a basic and extremely important channel for generating new customers and conversions. But to be successful you have to know how to use it. Do you want to get the most out of it? Pay attention to these tips.

1. Do a full study of the keywords: You have to get into the shoes of your potential client and think about what they would look for on the Internet. They should be the least generic words possible, that is, keywords that contain several words, which is called a longtail. A keyword research tool that Google offers you when you want to do an SEM campaign is the Google Ads keyword planner. It is a very complete tool where you can see various data about keywords, such as search volume and cost per click.
2. Add negative keywords: it is a key aspect in any SEM campaign. It consists of adding negative words so that if someone searches for them, they will not see your ad. They can be added at the ad group level or words that affect the entire campaign.
3. Plan a specific number of campaigns: This is one of the main problems that companies encounter when optimizing their SEM strategy. How many campaigns do I need? It is advisable to create an individual campaign for each product if what you want is to allocate a different budget to each one. Although it is also interesting to organize your account in campaigns by dates or special discounts.
4. Consider location and device: location and device are decisive, since these two variables can only be adjusted at the campaign level. One possible strategy may be to create one campaign per country. In turn, these campaigns will be divided into two: one for mobile devices and another for computers or tablets. Depending on the audience you are targeting, you can use different words. In addition, the task with the devices is to analyze which one gives you the best performance (ctr and conversions) to increase or decrease the offer. Like the geographic adjustment it can mean a before and after in your results.
5. Check the budgets: It is something that should not be done on a daily basis, but it should be done periodically, especially when it is necessary to reduce costs or bet stronger with certain products.
6. Improve the quality of your landing page: the destination url must be optimized from the SEO point of view and for sale. One of the main causes of non-converting traffic is the quality of the landing page.
7. Adjust CPCs: It is essential to detect which words have the highest cost and worst results. If you need to save because you still don’t have profitability, the best thing you can do is pause them.
8. Adjust the default bids for each group: Increase the offer by 10% or 20% in those groups that are giving you results ( conversions ) to boost and continue to hold positions with that set of keywords.
9. Use two matches on the same keyword: Another highly recommended setting for your keyword lists is to have the same word with two different matches. It is about repeating the word and matching it differently in such a way that Google detects them as different keywords.
10. Write original ads: It is not easy, but it is possible. How to get it?

• Use all the characters to make it clear what makes your product unique.
• In the title, use the words with the highest search volume.
• Add ad extensions appropriate to your business, such as location or call.
• Includes prices and numbers.

 

Benefits for your company of a good SEM strategy

The main advantage of online advertising is that it allows you to adapt the ads depending on the type of customer we want to target and exclude those that do not interest us. These are some of the benefits that your company should bet on an SEM strategy if it does not already do so.

1. Increase in web traffic: the goal of any SEM campaign is to cFollow visits to the web, either to sell our products or services, to enhance our brand image or to make ourselves known. Google AdWords allows you to increase visits to our website in the short term.
2. Segmentation: Google Ads allows us to segment our target audience, so that we can create campaigns taking into account different characteristics, such as gender, age, geographical region, tastes and even hobbies. Thus, it is possible to reach the target in the best way.
3. The ideal complement to SEO: combining SEM and SEO we will have a digital marketing strategy in the short (SEM), medium and long term (SEO). In fact, there is no answer to the question of which is better, SEM or SEO, since it is the combination of these that makes a strong digital strategy.
4. Cost control: the SEM strategy allows absolute control of the campaigns. We can set the budget and we only pay when there is some interaction with users.