Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Search engine marketing, also referred to as keyword marketing, is a kind of internet marketing in which the market visibility and exposure of a product or service is improved through utilization of multiple methods.

Therefore, the ability of an individual to promote a particular website by improving its visibility in the result pages of search engines (SERPs) is known as his search engine marketing skills. These skills may require the use of a combination of techniques such as search engine optimization, paid placement and in the case of a few search engines, paid inclusions, in order to ensure that traffic referrals from search engines (organic and/or paid) are increased.

Why is SEM important

An incredible growth in the field of search engine marketing has been witnessed for the following reasons:

• It enables direct response marketing. Since people turn to search engines for help whenever they are looking for a product or solution, SEM provides the opportunity to target such people directly based on their searches by allowing you to put your brand in front of them, create awareness, and generate traffic to your website.
• It improves online visibility. In the clustered place that internet is, it is very crucial for all online businesses to enable users to find their website. Knowing that competition is always vying for the same eyeballs as us, the best approach is not to just drive traffic but ‘quality’ traffic to the website. That, in essence, is what search engine marketing enables us to do.

How to improve SEM skills

Here are some basic guidelines for helping you improve your search engine marketing skills:

• Select keywords carefully. One of the best ways to bring about improvement in your skills is to choose your keywords carefully and strategically. Focus on the selection of relevant and effective keywords in order to ensure that not only traffic is generated but quality leads are produced and conversions are happening. Choosing the right keyword strategy can save a lot of money that you may otherwise have to spend for winning paid search auctions.
• Write an effective ad copy. For those who are too low on budget for outbidding competitors and obtaining the top rank, you can try and stand out with an engaging and alluring ad copy. Whether you choose to write a good position statement, or offer enticing deals, or decide to do both, you have the opportunity to stand out by making your product/service seem like the only logical choice. However, involving yourself in some competitive research first would help you make that ad copy even more incredible.
• Know that Google is not the end of the world. Google may be capable of getting you the largest chunk of traffic, but it is indeed considered to be the most expensive search engine. Yet, advertisers often forget to look outside of Google. In order to improve your SEM skills without having to spend too much, you must look into other search engines that are less competitive as well as cost effective. Make all such search engines part of your overall search strategy and you’ll see the difference for yourself.

Job profiles that require this skill