Search Engine Marketing

What is SEM?

Search engine marketing is also called "Pay per Click" (PPC) or keyword advertising.

In this process you pay a search engine to include your web site in results for specific keywords or phrases. Popular services are provided by Google Adwords and Overture. Typically, you pay the service provider every time a user clicks on your advert.

Normally your advert will appear at, or near, the top of the search engine's results page. In some instances the advert is placed in a prominent position on the page and it is clear that the advert is not part of any natural search.

With this type of service you bid for position and those that bid more attain a more prominent position on a search engine results page. This means the cost of advertising is governed by market forces rather than the search engine's need to generate revenue.

Can I do it myself?

Yes, the companies make it very easy for you to sign up to their service.

Why would I ask you to manage my SEM campaigns?

While its very easy to run a PPC campaign its much more difficult to run one well. Inexperience can lead to a quick drain on a budget with very little return on investment (ROI). Employing professionals to manage your budget may not save you money, however, your ROI will be higher.

How?

By following methodology that we have developed through experience. Depending on your budget and requirements we would provide the following services.

  • We research your market and develop a list of targetable search phrases and words.
  • We manage your bids ensuring that they are not too low or too high. This is balanced against the margins available on each product or service sold. Maximising your profit and ROI.
  • For sites that sell multiple products or services we develop separate campaigns. This allows easy tracking and monitoring of ROI per product and is important if margins are lower on some products than others.
  • We create and monitor each advert and ensure that they are providing a reasonable conversion rate.
  • We create and monitor each advert's landing page ensuring that the user reaches a page that is relative to their search term. This is exceptionally important if a good conversion rate is to be attained. We also track each click to see not only the path through a web site but also the exit page - this can help identify other more fundamental problems with a web site.
  • Unlike other advertising streams SEM is accountable. We provide detailed reports and analysis on your campaign which allows you to see for yourself how well it is performing. You are in total control of your budget and can stop the campaign at any time.
  • Your SEM program will very likely be a main revenue channel for your business. We monitor and adjust your campaigns to take account of the competition and the market that you are targeting.

How Much?

You decide the budget but we would suggest, for smaller businesses, that a minimum amount of £1000 be allocated to your SEM campaign. We charge a set up, administration and maintenance fee and the remaining amount of the budget goes toward your bids.

If you would like to discuss your options or aren't sure whether PPC is for you please contact our SEM manager to discuss your requirements. He will go through the process with you and give you advice on the best way forward.