Search Engine Marketing (SEM) has become a digital marketing norm over the last decade. It’s a marketing technique used to boost the number of prospective clients or customers visiting a company’s website through search result clicks.
Search engine marketing has also evolved through the years as internet usage grew. Singapore has remained one of the most active centres of effective digital marketing services in the 20th century thanks to the progressive advantage of SEM-related technology. The healthy outsourcing environment in the country has allowed service providers to thrive and, as a result, many lessons and advanced SEM practices today have emerged from the region.
SEM 101
In simple terms, SEM refers to activities aimed at increasing visibility in internet search engines. A company is considered highly visible if its ads appear frequently or rank high on search engine result pages (SERPs) for a related topic. Being on top of the search engine page or list increases the likelihood of users visiting the website it links to, generating traffic volume which could, in turn, become successful conversions.
In recent years, SEM activities are increasingly being performed by outsourced third-party experts who specialise in interventions to improve a contracting company’s search engine visibility. Many of the reputable firms are based in Singapore and employ methods such as strategically placing sponsored or paid advertisements with highly-effective keywords.
As such, SEM is also referred to as paid search campaign or pay-per-click (PPC) marketing to distinguish it from conventional SEO which utilises merit-based ‘organic’ strategies to improve search engine ranking
Conventional SEM Practices
As a common of e-commerce for the last decades, both SEO and SEM services in Singapore, for example, have evolved significantly. Traditional digital marketing strategies primarily involve using keywords to raise the company’s SEM advertisements rank.
Despite the continuing effectiveness of this strategy, there are still outstanding challenges. For instance, some researchers explain that landing on the first page of Google is like a ”holy grail for marketers” and, even when a company appears on the first page, 90% of people click only one link among those on the first page.
This suggests that even if digital marketing strategies place a company in a high rank on keyword search engine results, it does not automatically result in conversions or interaction with a company’s ad. In fact, data on common PPC advertiser tactics on Google Ads reflect users only typically engage with 4% of ads that they encounter, meaning 96% of total paid ads are wasted.
New Defining Strategies in Digital Marketing
Improving SEM strategies entails changing the “get more clicks” mindset, which means using high-intent or “long-tail” keywords which are generally longer than generic keywords. The assumption is that when users type in long keywords, usually through advanced search options, they are more specific and are more intent on finding or buying a very particular item.
Also, personalised ad campaigns are preferred by 71% of consumers. This means tailor-fitting advertisements to particular demographic targets can significantly boost interest and increase conversions.
In relation to conversions, strategic intervention is necessary to increase conversions and result in revenues. This requires conversion optimisation strategies, which mean spending not just on ad placements but also on tools and software to optimise websites, performing research, and learning from analytics and feedback to ensure that visitors and leads turn into loyal customers.
Conclusion
Using responsive, personalised ads, timely and user-centric intervention to drive purchase, and keeping sensitive to customer feedback are new SEM strategies that now determine advantages in the digital marketplace. If you’re in the market for PPC, Singapore remains one of the highly animate environments in trailblazing novel SEM strategies that overcome traditional SEO tactics.
To maximise revenues from PPCs, it is urgent to contract the services of a reputed SEM company in Singapore such as Media Manager. As one of the leading digital marketing firms in the country, we have helped many companies reach their target conversion rates through optimised SEM strategies. Visit https://www.mediamanager.com.sg/ to find out more about our services and related products.