Part 2 of SEM

Lets explore the three biggest opportunities in SEM. 

First, The organic listing- these are the results you get just beneath paid search. They are listed in order of relevance according to google’s proprietary algorithm. To change your ranking here in organic search you must rely on search engine optimization, SEO. Let me take a second to mention avoiding companies offering to list you in the top search engines, don’t do it. Auto submission tools like these can hurt your rankings, avoid them. We’ll talk about SEO more in future posts.

Second, Paid/sponsored listings- These are those results on the left of a google search result screen or at the very top of the result list, normally set on a colored background. A fee is charged for every click on these links. You select which keywords you want to have your site listed and your budget. This great tool from google helps you assess your keyword spend and even the expected click through rate, its really helpful in assessing your ROI.

The third opportunity in SEM is content-network listings these are essentially Adsense ads posted on third party sites. These tend to have a lower click through rate, but still shouldn’t be ignored.

Anyone who still believes that SEO is just for the larger companies is missing the point and more importantly, a lot of business. SEM and SEO are techniques which bring the larger and smaller companies closer together and successful SEM work has seen many small companies leap frog major competitors and grab an increased market share. Is your business doing enough SEM?