SEM and Paid Online Marketing

From the Small Business Growth Strategies Series

Presented by

Introduction

How do you find anything you want?

You search for it!

And so does everyone else.

Introduction

So how do you reach huge audiences?

Pay to show up more frequently in relevant search results!

Introduction

This is referred to as Search Engine Marketing, or:

SEM

Introduction

In addition to SEM, we’ll introduce you to some alternative advertising methods that can help your small

business stand out.

SEM Lingo

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The practice of strategically organizing your website to increase the chances of it

showing up in search results. SEO is just one component of SEM.

Analytics

The information gathered by tracking activity on a website such as the number of visitors, the average amount of time spent

on the website and the percentage of visitors that turn into paying customers.

Keywords

Words entered into a search engine to let it know what you’re looking for. Rates for designing targeted

campaigns around specific keywords depend on how often they’re searched and the search engine results pages (SERPs) that they typically end up on.

Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs)

Pages of results that appear when you enter a search into a search engine.

Algorithms

Procedures of calculations that determine how pages appear on SERPs. Each search engine

has its own algorithm.

Content Networks

Groups of websites that host ads in addition to them showing up in Google search. In most cases,

content networks allow for contextual advertising by pairing relevant content with relevant ads.

Cost-Per-Click (CPC)

Also known as Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising.

Different names for the same model where the advertiser pays the search engine an agreed upon

amount of money for every click on an ad. The CPC / PPC model is the most common.

Cost-Per-Thousand (CPM)

Alternative advertising model where instead of paying per click, the advertiser pays the search

engine an agreed upon amount of money for every thousand impressions.

Impressions

Not the same as views.

Each time an ad is loaded on a page being viewed by a unique visitor, that is an

impression, whether or not they look at it.

Click-Through Rates (CTR)

Measured by dividing the number of impressions by the number of clicks on an ad. For example, an ad with 100 impressions and 5 clicks would have a

CTR of 5 percent.

Conversions

Reached every time your marketing goal is met. Imagine your goal is to convert new visitors to customers. Each time a new visitor makes a purchase, that’s a conversion. However, the

term conversion is not exclusive to sales.

Quality Scores

Used to measure how relevant ads are to particular search queries. Higher quality scores lead to better

positioning and lower cost-per-click.

Paid Marketing on Major Search Engines

Major Players

Google, Bing and Yahoo are the three big names in the search engine space.

Major Players

Microsoft’s Bing search engine and Yahoo are still in a partnership, referred

to as the Yahoo Bing Network.

Still, Google is the dominant force.

Major Players

Google AdWords

AdWords

As Jennifer Mesenbrink of Motorola’s digital and content strategy division jokingly said recently, “If you build it…you may still need Google AdWords.”

AdWords

As the largest online advertiser in the world, Google AdWords provides the highest numbers of

impressions and click-through rates.

AdWords

AdWords works by matching relevant searches with relevant advertisements.

For example, I did a quick search for

“smartphone” to show where the ads appear.

!

AdWords

Most people have heard of AdWords but don’t know what it looks like.

Here are the steps you go through to set up an

AdWords account…

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!

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AdWords

Targeted ads are especially relevant to local businesses and we recommend using them. They allow you to select specific areas, ranging in size

from a country to an area code.

AdWords

This is what the Locations section looks like once you open it up…

!

AdWords  

And this is what it looks like when you search for a specific area code. For this example, I used 11231, which would give me a reach of 38,000. If I wanted a larger audience, I could choose all of Brooklyn or

all of New York.

!

AdWords  

We recommend keeping your budget below $10 a day, at least until you get the hang of it.

Google Partners  

If you want the benefits of AdWords, but would prefer someone else to handle the responsibilities on your behalf, you can find over 5,000 certified

experts on Google Partners.

AdWords Express

Google knows that not every small business owner has the time or resources to devote to a full-fledged

AdWords campaign. That’s why they offer AdWords Express. Express was designed specifically for first-time advertisers and small business owners

who want to quickly set up targeted local ads.

Yahoo Bing Network

Yahoo Bing Network

There aren’t as many advertisers on the Yahoo Bing Network as there are on Google AdWords, making it less competitive. Simple logic will tell you that less competition increases your chances of showing up

in results

Yahoo Bing Network

If you’ve already launched an AdWords campaign and would like to use the same information on the Yahoo Bing Network, it can easily be transferred.

Yelp Ads

Yelp Ads

Search engines don’t own the whole world of paid online marketing. Yelp, which we covered in a past newsletter, also offers ads that can be valuable to

local businesses.

Yelp Ads

Once you’re on the Yelp Ads page, most of our readers will probably want to choose the Local

Business Owner option.

!

Yelp Ads

In addition to removing competitor ads, benefits include: •  Your business page is added to your competitors page

(presumably competitors who aren’t also using Yelp Ads) •  High-quality one minute video showcasing your business •  Unlimited photos •  Call to action button such as “print coupon” •  Access to Yelp support staff

Yelp Ads

Although it can vary, here is how the pricing usually works: •  $300/mo – includes 500 targeted ads per month •  $540/mo – includes 1200 targeted ads per month •  $825/mo – includes 2100 targeted ads per month •  $1100/mo – includes 3000 targeted ads per month

Yelp Ads

To show you an example of a Yelp Ad, I searched for a florist in my

neighborhood, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. It looks like Ode à la Rose in Chelsea purchased some ad space on Yelp.

!

YP Ads

YP Ads

Although it’s not quite as popular as Yelp, YP.com (Yellow Pages) also offers locally targeted ads that can help your business stand out. YP’s local search network includes Yahoo Local, City Search and over

three hundred more local search websites.

YP Ads

According to its website, the YP network receives over two billion annual searches from

over 60 million unique visitors. The YP plans are much more affordable Yelp, with plans starting

at just $59 per month.

Conclusion

Coming up with good SEO and SEM strategies takes time and patience.

If you’re interested in learning more about it, there are

infinite resources available online.

Now that you’re familiar with SEM lingo you’ll feel more comfortable taking it on.

Conclusion

As always, we hope this information has been valuable and that this series is helping your

small business grow.

If you’d like suggestions for more specific resources or have any questions, don’t hesitate

to shoot us an email.

Conclusion

“We  hope  you  found  this  informa2on  useful.  If  there  are  any  other  topics  

you’d  like  to  see  us  cover,  please  let  us  know.  And  if  taking  this  approach  helps  your  small  business  succeed,  we’d  love  to  hear  about  it.  You  can  reach  us  at  support@acuityscheduling.com!” Acuity Scheduling

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