Search Engine Marketing is a modern and effective way to grow and rank your business on Google Search Engine Result pages (SERP). Millions of companies compete with each other to reach the top pages of Google. Still, only those businesses that have adequately worked on their SEO can rank on google pages. However, Search Engine Marketing is the easiest and the most effective way to take your business to the ranking pages of google. This article will discuss the basic concept of SEM and how it works in digital marketing.  

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) - An Introduction

Search engine marketing is marketing a business via paid advertisements of Google to appear on the top of search engine results pages (SERPs). Companies bid on keywords that users of services, such as Google, might enter when looking for certain products or services, which gives the advertiser a better opportunity for their ads to appear on the ranking results for those search queries.  

These advertisements, also known as pay-per-click advertisements, come in different formats. Some are short, text-based adverts, while others, like product listing ads (PLAs, sometimes called shopping ads), are more visual, product-based marketing that lets customers quickly see vital details, such as pricing and reviews.  

The biggest strength of Search engine marketing is that it allows the advertisers to show their ads to those customers who have already made up their minds to purchase simultaneously. Then the customers only search for the keyword on Google, and the particular ad will appear at the top of the result. For this reason, SEM is a powerful way to grow a business.  

How to take your website to the top pages of Google? 

There are two main ways through which you can take your website to the top of the SERPs-

1. Organic results- It is an organic way to increase the ranking of websites. It works on the algorithms of Google. This algorithm assesses both relevances of the website. Primarily the quality of content on the website and the links from other websites, known as backlinks. It helps increase the domain authority.  

2. Pay per click (PPC)- It is the easiest and most effective way to appear on your website at the top of the Google page, but here you have to pay a certain amount for every click on the advertisement.  

These are the two main ways to rank your website on the search pages, and the first is the long-lasting and organic way to improve the website rank. Moreover, you will not be able to pay for each click. Once you stop paying google for the ads, your website will disappear from the top page of Google; however, if you have worked on the SEO and the content of your website and have got links or backlinks from other websites. Eventually, it helps you to stay at the top of the results. 

Well, don't confuse yourself. For this article, we will only use the term Search Engine Marketing (SEM).  

How does Search Engine Marketing work?  

The SEM works on the following concepts given below:  

Keywords  

It is an essential step of search engine marketing. A user types something on the search engines to find what they are looking for, and A keyword is a word or phrase that the user uses on the search engines such as "Search Engine Marketing Agency near me," "Best Digital Marketing Company in Aligarh," and much more.   

Search Engine Marketing Keyword Research  

Before creating any SEM campaign, you must first determine which keywords you want to show your website to the users. For finding suitable keywords for ad campaigns, you can take the help of Google ads. Google ads is a free tool where you can do free keyword research for your niche.   

Copywriting  

Now, it's time to create an attractive ad copy to catch the eye of the potential customer who has searched for the keyword you have kept in your campaign. Well, it's not easy as it seems; words and other rules limit you. You need to ensure that your ads present a clear, concise message and call to action option that will attract more potential customers to your ad.  

Landing Pages  

Finally, you must select your landing page that provides the information they expect after clicking on your ad link. If you fail to provide all the information that the user is expecting, if not, then you will get a high bounce rate means you are wasting the ad campaign budget. Well, it's not just necessary for SEM. It's essential for your organic growth too. Your web pages should be clean and full of content and must be given with all the information for a better experience for your visitor.   

Now, you have your keywords, created a draft of your ad, and prepared your landing page. You are ready to start your paid search campaign.

The process of paid Search    

       1. Set Your Location  

The first step of any PPC campaign is to set and adjust your location. You can see your ads locally, globally, city, or zip code. For instance, if you want to promote your digital marketing business, you can upgrade your ad at a location where the need for digital marketing agencies is high, e.g., Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, and much more. 

       2.Keywords Selection  

The process of putting keywords in your PPC campaign is mandatory. Using keywords in PPC campaigns allows search engine bots to provide your results to the potential viewers who have searched on that particular keyword.  

For instance, if you run your ad campaign on the keyword "web development agency," when someone searches that keyword on a search engine, your ad campaign will appear at the top of the result.  

       3.Creating your ads  

Different search engines' paid ads vary in regulations and character counts. They also offer other numbers of headings and descriptions and regularly tweak these. You'll need to check your tool of choice close to the launch of your campaign.  

 As a rule of thumb, you can usually have a heading of about 30 characters and a description of 80-90 characters. Google currently has an option for three headlines and two reports.  

 There are also stringent rules about what you can or can't include in your ad copy. For instance, you can't use all caps, exclamation marks, or non-alphabetical characters to make particular phrases stand out. Within these stringent rules, you're free to write whatever copy you desire!

       4.Select your bids  

Once you have completed writing your ad, it's time to select how much you are willing to pay for your chosen keywords. Most tools help you to select the bids for your ad campaign. Hence, it is mandatory. It depends on your willing how much money you want to spend on your ad campaign. Higher bids help you generate more conversions, and every search engine prioritizes high-budget ad campaigns.  

       5.Launch and track your ad campaign  

After completing all your steps, you are ready to launch your ad campaign. You can track all the metrics from your SEM account, whether it is your assigned budget, click-through rates, impression, or more. Moreover, you can follow the performance of your ad, and according to it, you can make changes to your ad.  

Why is SEM important for your business?  

 SEM is important because it ensures that the audience sees the content that you create in their searches. Also, it helps to generate conversion so you can reach the right audience easily, as your ad campaign will be visible on the top of the SERP page. However, it depends on your budget and your digital marketing strategy. Here are some reasons which show the importance of SEM.  

• You can go ahead from your competitor: Some companies use Search Engine Marketing to get higher ranks from their competitors. For instance, if your competitor uses the keyword "digital marketing company in Aligarh" in their ad campaign, they can beat you to the top of the SERPS, even if you rank highly in organic Search (SEO). Paid SEM help you beat them off.  
• You can examine and track your campaigns: SEM provides numerous options to track your movements and the performance of your ads. Through this, you can create an effective strategy for your campaigns.  
• It helps businesses: Paid ads are not just for big companies. It allows smaller budgets too. Choosing precisely the option of how many bids you want for your campaigns means you get involved whether your budget is in lack per month or just a few thousand rupees.  
• It provides insight into your competitor: Not only can you get off your campaign, but Through SEM, you can figure out which keyword your competitor is ranking for and then outbid them. Numerous tools assist you with the same. 

In a nutshell, SEM helps you in different ways to grow and promote your business. It allows you to rank on the top of the SERP page. Moreover, you can generate conversion and get insights into your competitors too. It is one of the practical tools to take your business to the next level. In short, Search Engine Marketing is a mixture of tools, strategies, and techniques that helps to optimize the visibility of websites on a Search engine such as Google and other sites.