Search engine marketing (SEM) has evolved to become the most reliable strategy for reaching your target audience and driving conversions. It boosts your company's exposure within your space; it compels your market to visit your website; it positions your product as the solution to their problems. As a result, your sales increase. Your revenue and profit swell. Your ROI rises. And your business enjoys stronger branding and customer loyalty in the process.
Many of your competitors are already using SEM in an attempt to capture a larger portion of your market. There has never been a better time to protect and expand your territory. This article will explain why search engine marketing should be a critical piece of your online marketing strategy. You'll discover the value of hiring an SEM expert versus forging a path on your own. We'll also describe how SEM PR and SEM social media tactics converge with SEO and PPC to produce a groundswell of momentum.
Why Search Engine Marketing Is Critical
SEM blends SEO, pay-per-click advertising, and social media strategies to give your company a higher level of visibility within the search engines' listings. But, visibility without sales is useless. And therein lies the true value of SEM.
Your online marketing efforts must generate conversions in order to justify the investment. Conversions might include a prospect buying your product, signing up for your newsletter, or becoming your affiliate. It might include subscribing to a continuity program that generates monthly revenue. Search engine marketing not only allows your company to approach your audience, but it engages the conversation that is already occurring in their mind. It compels action, which lifts your conversion rate.
Is Hiring A Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Expert Necessary?
Every tactic that is leveraged within a comprehensive search engine marketing deployment can be learned. The problem is, doing so is incredibly time-consuming. The algorithms that govern the search engine's organic rankings change constantly. The major PPC platforms endure a seemingly endless string of upheavals. Social media sites are still in their infancy; as they mature, so too, will the tactics required to leverage them. Developing proficiency in each area of search engine marketing takes an enormous amount of time.
An SEM expert will design a search engine optimization campaign that pushes your website to the top rankings for your chosen keywords. They can also launch a pay-per-click advertising campaign that further improves your exposure. Social media marketing tactics can be integrated to dovetail with the rest of your search engine marketing deployment. Even though you could launch these strategies on your own, do you have the time to learn and apply them?
SEM PR: Melding Search Engine Marketing With Public Relations
SEM PR has its roots in search engine optimization. Years ago, online public relations was managed largely through the creation and distribution of online press releases. This is still effective today. These press releases gain traction in the search engines' organic listings. That builds your company's brand while helping to push negative publicity off the first page of results.
Today, online PR has been incorporated within a broader SEM context that includes SEO, PPC, and online reputation management (ORM). For example, a press release can be distributed online in order to gain traction within the natural listings. Then, a PPC campaign can be launched to direct your audience to the press release on your website. Links can be placed throughout the page to other positive coverage. The more points of exposure, the less likely negative press will penetrate the top rankings in the search engines. This is a core element of ORM and by extension, search engine marketing.