Did you know, on average, we spend almost 11 hours a day staring at some screen? Be it our phone, computer, or other electronic devices. As our life gets busy with the virtual world, so does our exposure to the product advertisement campaign. Search engine marketing (SEM) is such an online marketing tool where, with every click, you get different ads dancing around on your screen. When and how these paid advertisements will show up on our search engine result page is determined by the intricate search engine marketing system. Based on the keyword we input on our search engine, we see many advertisements related to our search and our search result. As an online marketer, SEM can have a significant impact on your marketing campaign.
This article will discuss the common SEM mistakes and how to overcome those mistakes.
Difference between SEO and SEM
Google search results are divided into two categories- paid and organic. Where Search engine Marketing (SEM) uses both paid and organic ways to increase web traffic, Search engine optimization (SEO) uses a strategy to gain traffic to a website in an organic way. SEO doesn’t require businesses to pay for their ranking in search engines.SEM services and SEO strategies both are equally important for online marketing.
SEM Mistakes That You Should Pay Attention To
If you own a small business and manage your search engine marketing, you should know the mistakes to avoid on your marketing campaign. Some of these mistakes can cost you big time. These mistakes can also make you miss some opportunities (and revenue) for your business. Here are some common SEM mistakes-
Poorly Designed Landing Page
The landing page is the navigation page for the viewer. A good landing page should be straightforward and easy to navigate. It shouldn’t overwhelm the viewers with a bunch of mismatched ads and unnecessary information. If your landing page fails to guide the viewers, they will move on to another page, and your pay per click will be a waste.
Focusing On the Wrong Keyword
If you target the wrong keywords for your marketing campaign, you will be paying for clicks that don’t lead to any sale. Before you know it, you might run out of your marketing fund with no significant results; all because of the wrong keyword. You can go for an exact match for targeting the viewer who wants to buy your product. The selection of keywords requires research, and it is better to seek out professional help rather than continuing in the wrong direction.
Ignoring Mobile Optimization
Optimizing pages for mobile display can play a huge role in your marketing performance. Mobile phone traffic can add up to more sales than you can imagine. Google and other search engines are also focusing on ranking mobile-optimized sites higher than others. If you want to keep up with shifting trends in online marketing, you should give your website a mobile responsive makeover.
Ignoring Audience Interest
One reason that many SEM strategies fail is they are not targeting the right audience. If you target sales to everyone regardless of their level of interest, you reach no sale at the end of the day. Viewers type in keywords with various intentions- some might look for information, some might look for products to buy. Customizing your sale or marketing pitch according to the audience will provide you a better outcome.
Ignoring the Performance Monitoring
One of the primary keys to success in online marketing is to monitor the performance of your strategy. As new factors are impacting the online world, your plan needs to remain up-to-date and agile. If you analyze your result, you can better understand what approach is best for you and what strategies to ditch as they waste time and money. There are several metrics such as Click per conversion (CPA), Cost per click (CPC), Click-through rate (CTR), Conversion rates (CR) that you can set up to monitor the performance of your marketing strategy. Be ready to change strategy if the metrics are not producing the results that you wanted.
How to Overcome These Mistakes
Before these mistakes in your marketing strategy make your business lose its ground, you should immediately fix them. Here are some strategies you can follow to fix them-
Preparing a Compelling Landing Page
After your ads guide a viewer to the landing page, make sure they don’t get a generic landing page that offers all your products. You should instead focus on a specific product that interests the viewer. However, that doesn’t mean you have to build all your landing pages from the ground up. You can customize all your landing pages with just some minor adjustments.
Focus On Keyword and Audience
Whether you want a high volume of traffic or increased direct sales, you should be aware of your target audience and keywords. With the help of a Google search analytics report, you can get an insight into how your audience searches and reaches your products.
Focus On Mobile Optimization and Performance Monitoring
You can use call or message extensions for mobile optimization. Optimizing ads for mobile viewing is another option that you should consider. You can either customize your web landing page for mobile or create a separate landing page. Using alert for performance measurement is an excellent way to monitor which strategy works for you.
On a final note, while a well-thought-out search engine marketing strategy can make your business a success, moving in the wrong direction can also make you broke. You must choose the proper approach to SEM from the very beginning. Although SEM might seem complicated, and often the result is time-consuming, these mistakes are easy to avoid. If you are feeling overwhelmed with your business strategy, you can take consult with SEM experts. These SEM experts can guide you through the complexity and attain your desired business target.