.jpg)
What if you could combine the lasting benefits of SEO with the instant impact of paid advertising? Search Engine Marketing (SEM) does just that, and it's transforming how businesses connect with their audience. While each strategy can be effective on its own, pairing them together is one of the most effective ways to build a strong digital marketing foundation.
Understanding SEM
Search Engine Marketing is a form of digital marketing that uses search engines to promote your business. It requires optimizing your website with the right keywords, running ads on search engines, and creating relevant content to attract more visitors.Which might sound like a lot of work but it can give your business a major advantage. SEM combines SEO and paid advertising to maximize a website's visibility and drive relevant traffic from search. When you go to search something in Google you’re likely to receive a mix of results. Depending on your search term you’re likely to see a mix of website links, advertisements, videos and business listings—all of these make up search engine results.
There are plenty of reasons to add SEM to your marketing strategy:
- It’s easy to measure performance
- Positions your business in front of your target audience
- Offers quick visibility for your brand
- Updating advertising is quick and easy
- Enables you to collect data on your target audience
The Power of SEO and Paid Ads
Both paid ads and SEO together create an approach that will drive the best overall results for any business.
The goal for SEO is to get your website to rank higher on the search engines, acting as a base for gaining authority from the get-go. This translates into the most consistent source of traffic so overtime you can lower your PPC (pay-per-click) reliance without compromising site visitors.
Paid ads are your go-to for quick two-week campaigns such as a new product launch or ten-day deals. They are also perfect for reaching your target audience faster and testing new keywords that can improve your SEO strategy in future.
The Role of Search Intent
Search engines often update their algorithms and it’s likely that when they do, many websites drop in rankings as updates move away from a hyper-focus on keywords. That isn’t to say that keywords are not an integral part of SEM but building your strategy solely around them can stop you from building a well-rounded foundation (and could result in your rank dropping).
Instead of focusing solely on keywords, you want to take into consideration Search Intent, meaning how can you answer the questions your audience is asking. Google for example evaluates how your landing pages fit into the content of the subject that your audience is searching.
By aligning your SEO and PPC strategies with search intent you’ll be able to connect with users who are interested in your product.
Strategic Approach to Keyword Targeting
SEO tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush are great and can help you identify high-traffic keywords related to your business, but they’re only one piece of the puzzle.
Dive into customer research to learn more about your target customer’s pain points, so you can choose your keywords carefully. You can also take a look at what keywords your competitors are targeting and see how you can tailor your approach; don’t be afraid to go after your competitor’s search terms, it’s a clever way to steal some of their traffic and revenue. Take a look into long-tail keywords too. These tend to be specific phrases that usually have less competition but can lead to a boost in conversion rates as they capture users with clear intent.
The Benefits of Retargeting
While the idea is that everyone who stumbles upon your website for the first time is ready to buy but for the vast majority of visitors, it’s just not the case. Which is why retargeting can be a powerful tool.
Retargeting is an effective way to turn those window shoppers into customers; these ads populate around the web for people who have either visited or taken in an interest in your business but have not yet purchased.
For example, you’re shopping for a new pair of shoes and visit a particular online store, browsing various styles and even add a pair to your cart but then for whatever ready you decide not to purchase then and there. After leaving the site you start seeing ads for those exact shoes on other websites or on social media; it’s not by magic, this is ad retargeting in action and it’s a great conversion tool.
The Power of Branding
While SEM is highly effective for targeting specific keywords and driving immediate traffic, investing in your brand’s identity and visibility across multiple channels can amplify these results even further. Building brand recognition through organic social media, affiliate programs and advertising, as well as other brand-building efforts, can help drive success that goes beyond just keyword targeting.
A strong brand presence makes it more likely that people will recognize and engage with your business when they see it in search results, whether that be through paid ads or organic listings. This increased familiarity with your brand also contributes to non-branded keyword performance because search engines will perceive your site as a trusted source across a range of relevant queries. So, by focusing not only on keywords but also on brand recognition, you’ll lay a foundation for a long lasting online presence and make it easier to convert SEM traffic into loyal customers.
The Order Of Operations: What To Expect And How To Deploy SEO And Paid Search Ads In Unison
While SEO tends to be a longer journey before the results kick in, launching paid search ads lets us “skip the line”—not only does it bring in immediate visibility but also provides invaluable data to help you refine your landing pages, keywords and overall strategy—insights that may not surface right away through SEO alone. So by the time your SEO efforts start to kick in you’re able to reap the full benefits as your approach is fine-tuned and primed for maximum impact.
Even when you achieve high organic rankings in competitive industries, maintaining paid search campaigns can be beneficial as it adds an extra level of visibility and has the potential to capture high-quality leads from multiple sources.
Lead Quality: Why Organic Leads Trump Paid Ones
“Organic leads overall reign supreme over their paid counterparts” (Anthony Dutcher, Vix Media Group). Organic rankings are considered to be “earned” through hard work and quality content/SEO, and statistics from Brainlabs, BrightEdge, Statista & CHEQ show that 53.3% of all web traffic comes from organic search. Only 27% comes from paid. While 74% of brands say that paid ads are a huge driver for their business, it’s likely that 14.08% of those search ad clicks are fraudulent or invalid—so how much realistically is coming your way that will drive your business to where you want it to be?
Now this isn’t to say that once your SEO starts bringing in a steady flow of organic leads that you should just drop paid ads entirely. As we covered in ‘Order of Operation’, a well-rounded approach, more often than not, will include paid search ads. However, it’s likely that you will find room to scale down the budget that goes towards paid once your organic traffic from SEO is well-established.
Sustained Value with SEO
A major benefit to touch on regarding SEO that shouldn’t be overlooked is its longevity—you turn off your paid ads and the traffic stops, just like that. But invest in SEO and you’re creating a foundation that will continue to deliver results for years to come. It’s a recurring trend with our clients here at VIX—long-term SEO efforts return well beyond the initial investment.
The Rise of AI in Search: How It’s Changing the Game
AI-driven search is evolving fast with ChatGPT fast becoming the go-to for search related queries. However, that’s not to suggest that AI tools are replacing search engines, but more so; they’re enhancing them. Which is a reason why Google has accelerated its own AI-driven capabilities, like the Gemini project and search summaries, signaling a new era for search engines. The key takeaway is that, while the fundamentals of SEO and paid search still matter, adapting to AI’s impact on search will help you to stand out increasingly more in this competitive landscape.
In conclusion, search engine marketing is a powerful tool for building your brand’s awareness, and driving traffic and conversions. But in order to see those profitable results you need to be implementing a holistic SEM strategy that includes SEO, paid ads, retargeting, and email campaigns.
Not sure which platforms and techniques you should use? It may be time to partner with VIX. Reach out to our experts today and let’s tailor a strategy that aligns with your goals together.
.png)
.svg)
