Most contemporary internet users leverage the value of search engines like Google to discover a new product. With the right search engine marketing (SEM) tactics, you can boost your chances of appearing in front of potential customers at the right time. SEM takes advantage of paid advertisements that appear on search engine results pages.
Whether you run a small business or are responsible for the operations of a large enterprise, your SEM practices play a crucial role in driving its success. Given the complex scope of the project, consider hiring an SEM agency to take care of your business activities. Regardless, you should know the best practices that can help you boost your sales.
1. Focus on keyword research
Keywords are crucial for almost every marketing practice – SEO or SEM. Your pay-per-click (PPC) ads’ success heavily relies on the keywords you choose. With SEO tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and Moz Keyword, you can easily conduct in-depth keyword research for your ads.
However, you need to make sure that the chosen keywords align with the search intent of the page you are promoting. While featuring an ad on the SERPs, Google’s algorithm tries to match it with search intent.
2. Optimise for smartphones
In the first quarter of 2023, mobile devices reportedly generated 58.33% of global website traffic. It would be a mistake not to optimise your ads for smartphones. Since most users search for information using their phones, you must ensure that when they click on your ad, it loads quickly and adjusts its design according to the screen size.
If your ad page takes too long to load and does not have a responsive design, users may leave the page without even checking out the content. So, take the necessary measures to ensure your ad page is mobile-friendly.
3. Improve the product page
The ultimate goal of all your SEM efforts is to drive sales through conversions. You must ensure that the product pages are optimised properly to accomplish this. An optimised ad page will only help if your product page is optimised for a particular set of keywords.
To convert more leads into customers, ensure the product page has the right product descriptions, well-segmented categories, and answers to the FAQs. If a user clicks on an ad for “Dog Food” and the page displays only dog toys, you are more likely to lose the potential customer.
4. Optimise for voice search
With the introduction of smart home devices like Google Home, Amazon Echo, and others, many users are discovering products and services through voice searches. You can use this trend to your advantage by optimising your Google ads for long-tail keywords that most people use in conversations.
Try incorporating “question-based” keywords into your ad page and using a conversational tone in the ad content. Also, it is recommended that you keep the local audience in mind while developing the ad content.
5. Make use of ad extensions
People need to discuss it more, but you can boost your SEM efforts with the help of a few helpful ad extensions. These extensions can make your ads more relevant and informative for potential customers by improving the overall customer experience. These extensions can improve ad visibility, the quality of leads, and the click-through rate.
Here is a list of useful extensions depending on your SEM objectives:
- Sitelink extensions
- Call extensions
- Structured snippet extensions
- Callout extensions
- Location extensions
- Product extensions
- Image extensions
Conclusion
Search engine marketing offers you a better chance to appear at the top of the SERPs and convert leads into customers. You must put significant effort into making those SEM (PPC ads) work. The SEM practices mentioned in the article can help. However, you should keep yourself up-to-date regarding the latest guidelines and changes in search engine algorithms.
