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Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

What is search engine marketing?

Search engine marketing (SEM) is a digital marketing strategy used to increase the visibility of a website in search engine results pages (SERPs).

While the industry term once referred to both organic search activities such as Search Engine optimization (SEO) and paid, it now refers almost exclusively to paid search advertising.

Search engine marketing is also alternately referred to as paid search or pay per click (PPC).

Why is SEM important?

With an increasing number of consumers researching and shopping for products online, search engine marketing has become a crucial online marketing strategy for increasing a company’s reach.

In fact, the majority of new visitors to a website find it by performing a query on a search engine.

In search engine marketing, advertisers only pay for impressions that result in visitors, making it an efficient way for a company to spend its marketing dollars. As an added bonus, each visitor incrementally improves the website’s rankings in organic search results.

Since consumers enter search queries with the intent of finding information of a commercial nature, they are in an excellent state of mind to make a purchase, compared to other sites such as social media where users are not explicitly searching for something.

Search marketing reaches consumers at exactly the right time: when they are open to new information. Unlike the majority of digital advertising, PPC advertising is non-intrusive and does not interrupt their tasks.

Results are immediate with SEM. It is arguably the fastest way to drive traffic to a website.

How SEM works

Search engines use complicated algorithms to ensure the most relevant results are returned for each search, including location and other available information.

In paid search advertising, sponsored ads appear at the top of and on the side of search engine results pages to gain more visibility and prominence than the organic results.

Let’s say that you are a customer looking for a product or service online. You go to a search engine and type in your search terms (also known as keywords).

In your search results page, you will come across various company ads whose keywords match the keywords in your search.

These ads appear in prominent locations on the page – along with the other search listings that match your keywords. The paid listings are highly relevant to your specific search, making it likely that you will click on them.

Now let’s take a look at how SEM campaigns work from the marketer’s perspective.

SEM networks are self-serve operations. Once a marketer selects a network, they can get a campaign up within a short period of time.

When setting up a campaign within an SEM network, the marketer is prompted to:

Conduct keyword research and select a set of keywords related to their website or product

Select a geographic location for the ad to be displayed within

Create a text-based ad to display in the search results

Bid on a price they are willing to pay for each click on their ad

Text-only ads are easy to produce. Marketers enter a headline, text for the body of the ad, a call-to-action and a URL for the hyperlink.

Search engine marketing is considered by many to be the most efficient way to spend marketing dollars.

Examples of search ad networks:

The two primary search networks that SEM professionals target are Google Ads (formerly Google Adwords) and the Bing Ads.

Google AdWords is actually two networks: Google Search Network and Google Display Network. The first network consists exclusively of search-related websites owned by Google, while the second includes properties such as YouTube, Blogger and Gmail. The Bing Ads allows customers to buy ads on both Yahoo’s network of websites and Bing’s network.

While Google Ads is a much larger network (around 2x the size), the pricing is often lower on Bing Ads. Marketers may be able to get a better rank for a competitive keyword phrase for less than they get on Google. And some report that the clickthrough rates are higher as well.

How A/B testing can complement SEM

Since you are already making an investment in search engine marketing to bring traffic to your website, it is a worthwhile effort to optimize that traffic for conversions and increase the efficiency of your spending.

A/B testing your landing pages is an easy way to maximize your spend, either by optimizing for average order value or revenue per page.

Optimizing your landing page can increase your Quality Score with search engine marketing networks, thus reducing your average CPC.

Optimizely – and other platforms like it – can help you easily structure and implement your A/B tests, offering real-time results to give you confidence in your business decisions. Optimizely has integrations with popular ad networks such as Google Adwords and Facebook that make setting up ad-related experiments quick and easy.

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“The secret to getting results from your social networking is to act like a member, not a marketer.” – Mari Smith 

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Top 10 Digital Marketing Challenges in 2023 & How to Tackle Them

Top 10 Digital Marketing Challenges Companies Face

Listed below are some digital marketing challenges for companies.

1.   Dynamic Platforms 

With dynamically changing platform algorithms it is very difficult to keep up, especially with multi-channel marketing.

2.   Competing with big brands and companies

The biggest challenge is competing with the top companies. Their reach and communication impact are much more. Hence, it is difficult for smaller companies to grow and sustain in the market.

3.   Unpredictable buying behavior

With the advent of the internet, the world has become one marketplace. This means better-informed clients and also more options available in different sectors. Hence, consumer buying behavior is very unpredictable. 

4.   Limited budgets

The bigger the company, the bigger the budget. Startups have limited budgets which poses a challenge in creating content and also resources.

5.   Consumer-centric market

The market has adopted a consumer-centric approach and its expectations are constantly evolving. Customers expect personalization and like it when companies really tend to their needs. This can be really challenging for companies and businesses. 

6.   Creating fresh engaging content

This is a major hurdle when it comes to digital marketing. Creating fresh, unique content is a big challenge especially when it comes to video formats. 

Compelling and engaging content has seen popularity and with every other brand investing in new and engaging content, it is difficult to stand out from the crowd. 

7.   Striving to be mobile-friendly 

More than 50% of users shop from smartphones and tablets as opposed to a desktop. Companies need to optimize their websites for easy use from mobile phones. This also comes as a challenge to many companies.

8.   Data and Security Issues 

Data is a big asset when it comes to digital marketing and people hesitate to give their numbers and email addresses to any brand as they are might face some data security or privacy issues. 

9.   Content Strategy 

Creating a content strategy is a big challenge for the brand because social media platforms are extremely dynamic and the audience is globally spread. 

10.  Fast-changing trends and updates

Digital marketing trends are important to inculcate in your marketing strategy but it is one of the biggest digital marketing challenges to keep up with them. Secondly, Google and other platforms update their algorithm in order to create a better experience for users. However, such updates hamper the SEO and SMM efforts of brands.

Top 10 Solutions for Digital Marketing Challenges

There are many opportunities and challenges in digital marketing in India. Wondering how to handle digital marketing challenges? 

·      Customer Needs 

Addressing customer needs via email or chatbots is a great way to save time and effort. Automated emails and replies to customer queries will also make them feel heard and appreciated.

·      Make Use of Online Tools

Making use of online digital marketing tools will make your life much simpler. Tools such as Hootsuite and Buffer have an in-built dashboard with which you can easily carry out online reputation management and also schedule posts easily.

·      Keep updated with Trends

Keeping an eye out for updates and trends is very important. Leveraging these trends in digital marketing and updates on various platforms will surely get you ahead. Weighing the pros and cons of an update is also good. 

Trending hashtags are also a great way to get discovered on social media and are great for SEO purposes.

·      Media Planning

Proper budget allocation is integral. A challenge for digital marketers is budget restraints. For a stellar campaign, media planning is required. A data-driven report and analysis on ROI presented to the client can really help. It is important to include analytics in the report. 

·      Efficient Delegation 

Keeping the website updated, making sure it is SEO rich, and also ensuring it has been optimized for speed is quite a challenge. It can be difficult juggling all of these but the key here is hiring a talented and dedicated team and efficiently delegating and supervising their work. 

·      Find Your Niche

Finding your niche will solve all of your problems. Finding a niche will help you in building a content strategy, choosing the right target audience and also planning your budget accordingly.

·      Omnichannel 

If you are just starting out then focus on one channel of online marketing such as Youtube, Instagram, Google, etc. Once you build a great hold of the audience there, multichannel marketing becomes easy for your brand.

·      Flexible Marketing Strategy

Keeping up with all the digital marketing trends that are dynamic in nature is a challenge but you can counter it with a flexible marketing strategy. Don’t over plan your content and paid marketing strategy to an extent that there is no room for improvement.

·      Research Competitive Content

Marketers argue that digital marketing is both an advantage as all kinds of brands and businesses are uniformly marketing on the same channel but also a challenge because small businesses might not be able to keep up with big brands. Hence, the solution is to research the content of your competitors and draw inspiration from them. 

·      Upskill

Upskilling is very important. Many corporations have started investing in upskilling their employees so that they have a wider knowledge base and it also leads to more productivity. It can also help employees to understand digital marketing holistically rather than just one particular area of the field. 

The current top recommendation is to opt for full-fledged digital marketing corporate training where all problem-based solutions are provided as well complete training is given in that discipline.

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The future of Digital Marketing is different than you think....!

The COVID-19 pandemic halted global economic order, but it managed to speed up digital marketing operations. In fact, throughout the pandemic, many businesses managed to transition to remote work and understood the significance of digital marketing. 

For many entrepreneurs and small businesses, digital marketing has become an opportunity to gain a competitive edge in the market. But to venture into the new age of digital marketing, small businesses and entrepreneurs have to be broadminded.

Gen Z and Expanding Reach

More Gen Z users will reach the age of maturity, which means businesses and entrepreneurs will have to redirect their digital marketing efforts. Companies don’t have to make drastic changes, but the tactics catered to Gen X or boomers will ultimately become redundant. 

Gen Z wants a memorable experience, which means digital marketing efforts will have to be more precise and effective. Professional digital marketers believe that Gen Z and millennials will become “the” target audience for most businesses and require a highly responsive and modified approach.

Globalized Shared Mission

The collective efforts in digital marketing have already become quintessential. But more businesses will adopt a shared and global perspective before using new digital marketing tools or executing ad campaigns.  In short, a global perspective will allow businesses of all sizes to expand their reach and simplify various processes.

Moreover, marketing messages across various digital channels would allow entrepreneurs and small businesses to build trust with the targeted audience. It will also help enterprises to thwart market skepticism and reestablish their value proposition in the market.

SEO, Data Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence

SEO, data analytics, and AI have become part of the digital marketing landscape. As AI evolves, businesses will automate more digital processes and make informed business decisions based on data analytics insights.

One report highlights that the execution of more than 85% of digital ads will be done through automation in the foreseeable future. But “how” you collect and render insights from a data analytics tool will also change. More businesses would focus on smart technologies to categorize audiences and configure ad space through extensive data analysis with automated programmatic advertising in play. 

Heightened Personalization

When it comes to personalized targeting, tracking KPIs and other digital marketing tools will continue to play an integral role. Personalized targeting has become a secret ingredient in rolling out effective ad campaigns and communicating with the target audience. Each element of an ad is essential and allows businesses to deliver value via storytelling.

In the new age of digital marketing, entrepreneurs and small businesses will need to be more critical and reflect on previous efforts. For instance, the more precise language of an ad shows the intent and confidence of the brand. And users will opt for brands that are not reluctant about their core message.

The Use of Augmented Reality

When it comes to the tech tools that make it easier for small businesses to communicate with the audience, AR tools are at the top. Many startups already use augmented reality technologies to achieve significant growth in the coming years. Most digital marketing experts believe that augmented reality will play a crucial role in the future and help eCommerce businesses set a new path.

Voice Optimization

More dependence on automated digital assistant solutions will allow more categorical and objective digital marketing efforts. Whether it’s Cortana, Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri, voice search continues to gain more popularity. More users want the freedom to speak to a dedicated digital assistant directly rather than type manually.

What’s interesting is that optimization of keywords for voice-based search is entirely different. And that’s because when people want to adapt and start using their digital voice assistance, they use keywords and phrases that are more realistic and practical. As the voice recognition capabilities of digital assistants improve, digital marketers will focus on a more different SEO approach to optimize business sites based on voice search.

You may not be aware of it, but more than 70% of people with one or more activated digital assistants prefer to use voice commands rather than type the task. The fundamental approach of SEO is identical to voice recognition.

But the spotlight will be on a new style of keywords and phrases that people use in their day-to-day routine. The rise in voice recognition technologies means digital marketers will be able to target more accurate voice search results for ad campaigns and boost SEO efforts.

Google concurs that voice recognition of digital assistants is close to 95% accurate. But more precise voice recognition search results mean digital marketers will use more natural long-tail keywords than generic text-oriented ones.

Omni channel and Integrated Approach

Small businesses and entrepreneurs no longer need to restrict their online presence to a single Facebook page. With more market expectations and consumer needs, businesses to be active on various digital channels and platforms.

Fortunately, there are already tools like Hootsuite that allow businesses to maintain a unified omnipresence. In the coming years, businesses will be able to integrate their core message and value proposition for the specific target audience on various channels. A unified omnichannel digital marketing strategy will allow more businesses to understand their customers’ changing behavior, location, and preferences.

Expect More Awareness

You need a massive target audience, whether you use digital marketing for lead generation, conversion, or brand awareness. The future of digital marketing is bright because now there is more market and consumer awareness.

Businesses can also use a wide range of smart tools to collect an ocean of data and make in-depth analyses about their target audience. It’s a completely new way to approach the audience. In fact, extensive market and consumer research allow businesses to leverage untapped opportunities.

Businesses don’t need to understand every facet of new technology. Of course, the mechanics of a smart tool matter, but businesses that plan to broaden their digital marketing approach will see the most positive results. It is the main reason innovation will become vital for B2C and B2B players.

What Makes Up a Future-Proof Digital Marketing Strategy?

What may have been popular digital marketing practice a few years ago would become outdated. When it comes to digital marketing, there is always a paradigm shift that propels businesses and entrepreneurs to post more personalized content, adapt new SEO rules, and embrace smart digital technologies. 

Small businesses that want to follow the tide of digital marketing can afford to overlook emerging trends in the space. The key is to figure out how a specific trend may change the digital marketing landscape and impact business position.

In 2021, the online shopping landscape has become diversified, and ethnic minority users prefer an inclusive approach. Digital marketing has become more than just about click-through rates – it’s now about how businesses contextualize emerging trends and approach their target audience for various purposes.

Wrapping Up

In the last decade, digital marketing has been through significant upswings. From social media to search engine optimization, digital marketing continues to impact billions of users positively. With more advanced tools and practices, digital marketing will continue to propel companies to step up their competitive drive in the market.

Digital marketing has made it possible for small businesses and entrepreneurs to increase their ROI and roll out effective ad campaigns. In time, the effectiveness of digital marketing practices will reach new heights and allow companies to make the most out of AI, SEO, AR, and VR tactics.

As of now, many digital marketing trends may or may not pan out in the coming years. Unlike the traditional approach, the new wave of digital marketing boils down to customer behavior. Needless to say, new strategic digital marketing efforts will allow businesses to set a new precedent.