What are the
Advantages and Disadvantages of SEM?
If you want to increase traffic to your website, SEM
is the other option after SEO. The term 'SEM' stands for search engine
marketing, includes SEO, organic traffic, and paid ads like google ads on the
search page.
It depends on the people you ask about search engine
marketing, and they give different meanings to it. SEM primarily refers to paid
search ad campaigns, like Google Ads. However, some may refer to all the
marketing actions within a search engine, whether they paid or not.
In this article, we'll unravel what SEM is, its
advantages, and disadvantages to help you get started in the world of search
engine marketing.
What is SEM?
Search engine marketing is a part of digital marketing
that includes the advertising of websites.
It increases their visibility in SERPs (search engine
result pages) through a paid advertising method called SEM.
It is also called marketing which takes place through
paid media budget.
But right now, we are going to discuss some main pros
and cons of SEM. Let’s get started!
Advantages of Search Engine Marketing
Targeting your audience
Reaching your target market helps you improve
marketing messages that appeal to your particular audience, and creating
effective communication with the audience generates a better chance of
converting leads. You can use various settings and targeting options available
within an online advertising campaign. If you follow the campaign, set up, and
manage it strategically, every ad click might come from within the desired
target audience.
At the Right time
If you want to target a potential customer, it is
important to know who you are targeting when using search marketing. According
to Google, if being found by potential customers at the exact moment when
they’re searching for you is key.
Immediate Results
Search engine advertising makes it happen for a
website to immediately show up on the first page of search results if the
content is well structured and written.
Increase Brand Awareness
It lets an ad display at the top of the search results
page, and people within the target audience will see the ad — even if they
don’t wish to click on it. These impressions help in building recognition.
Highly measurable.
You can measure reports with different tools like
Google Ads as that gives you detailed information on the improvement of your
campaign, so you can always know what happens with your ads. Besides, you can
take the benefit of integration with Analytics to have everything in control.
Pay per click (PPC)
In this, you will only pay if you get the desired
results. You can control the daily budget that you want to invest in and the
maximum cost per click you can pay. With this, you make sure that the campaign
is profitable in all circumstances.
Segmentation.
Lastly, another strong point of SEM is its great
segmentation possibilities. By focusing on keywords, you can reach the public
that is genuinely interested in you. You must take other factors in your mind
like location, language, or behavior.
Disadvantages of Search Engine Marketing
High Competition
The popular keywords in competitive industries need
bigger budgets to pay to play the ads.
Big companies have larger budgets and SEO experts who manage their
search advertising campaigns. Therefore, companies with smaller budgets have to
be more strategic to drive search results and employ an SEO expert.
Highly Specialized Knowledge
To maximize the budget of a campaign, you need
specialized knowledge to correctly and strategically set up and manage it. The
management platforms have complex interfaces, settings, and jargon which can be
difficult for you and your audience. Google and Bing offer directors certified
professionals who can help you.
Consumes more time
It takes a lot of time to research keywords and create
an effective search ad campaign. The campaign requires constant optimization —
daily or weekly. The campaign performs in a live environment and needs to be
examined and changed to achieve the best results. Also, keep in mind that
search platforms regularly change algorithms and management interfaces and
require you to keep an eye on the ongoing updates.
Higher long-term cost.
The SEM only works when you pay for the ads. However,
after some time, you can optimize your campaigns and reduce costs per click
(CPC), and you will have to continue paying for each of the visits you get from
your audience.
It can be interruptive.
Contrary to other solutions such as native
advertising, SEM refers to "invading" the user's space with content
that has not been required earlier. If your targeted audience uses an ad
blocker, they may not be able to see your ads.
Conclusion
SEM now has become necessary for companies. However,
it can be much more helpful if you use it with other tools such as SEO. Getting
the knowledge of keywords will be a fundamental key to action in the search
engines. A study of Buyer Persona helps you understand the intention of your
audience when looking for specific keywords. It will allow you an accurate
segmentation.
So, it is up to the marketer/advertiser how they use
Search engine marketing. Also, how you use SEM will decide the future results.
It means that any brand can use SEM for improving its online business, and you
should do it too.