Unlike ever before, small businesses have the ability to send targeted messages to their intended audience, and it is all thanks to search engine marketing. Also known as SEM, search engine marketing allows businesses to “buy” visitors and increase traffic to their website through paid search activities. Most small businesses are not able to optimize the capabilities of SEM themselves, which is why they will hire professionals who provide search engine marketing services.
Is SEM The Same As SEO?
Many small business owners have heard the term SEO, which is distinctly different from SEM. SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of driving traffic to your website organically. This is typically done by producing quality content, keyword research, placement, and metadata. SEM, on the other hand, guarantees your business a top spot in the search engine result pages (SERPs) for pre-defined keywords.
Why Your Business Should Use SEM
There are a number of key benefits which come with enlisting the help of search engine marketing services:
More People Use Search Engines to Locate Information than Any Other Medium
No longer is the local phone book the go-to source for local information. A recent study produced by comScore and TMP revealed that 74% of internet users perform local searches. What is even more interesting is the fact that 82% of these local searches are followed up with an offline in-store visit, phone call, or even a purchase.
SEM Will Save You Money
Another reason why more small businesses are using search engine marketing services is because customer acquisition is inexpensive. The industry your business is in will depend on your customer acquisition costs, but it is not uncommon for businesses to save as much as ten times on this expense than if they were to use anther marketing medium, such as direct mail or television advertising.
You Are Getting In Touch With Warm Leads
One of the reasons why your customer acquisition costs will be so low through SEM is because this type of marketing puts you in touch with individuals who are already likely interested in your services. SEM can significantly shorten the lead nurturing process and increase the number of sales you make each month.
You Are Ahead of the Competition
Unlike SEO where you can never be too sure where you will show up on the SERPs, SEM guarantees you a top spot on Google, Bing, and other search engines. This means that you will always appear ahead of your competition. For more information on how SEM works and how it can benefit your business, check out seohoustonblog.com.
