Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Marketing are two portions of paid digital advertising, which is integral to finding success online. They’re often lumped in with Search Engine Optimization (SEO), so most people don’t know the intricacies of these two important aspects of advertising. 

We’re here to break it down for you!

What’s The Difference Between SEM & PPC?

Within paid digital advertising is paid search. That’s SEM! This covers kind of search engine marketing, whether it be Google, Bing, or even platform-specific search engines like Facebook Marketplace. PPC is pretty straightforward – it focuses on paying per click, not placement on platforms. PPC can function in SEM tactics but is not limited to just search engine campaigns. You can also use it for social Marketing campaigns. For example: when you’re using Facebook for PPC campaigns, like ads driving traffic to your website, it’s not part of the search marketing right at that point, it’s social marketing. 

How Does it Work?

We use Google Analytics to measure web traffic. It’s a free tool that you can embed onto your website that tracks all sorts of metrics. Using Analytics, you can see where people found your website, what pages they’re going to, the duration of user sessions, and track conversions (i.e. filling out a form or calling a phone number). Depending on the capabilities of your site, you can also track data on user interactions with chatbots or newsletter signups. 

All this information gives businesses the opportunity to curate stronger ads and bring in more traffic through routes like SEM and PPC, then ultimately accomplish whatever goals you have for your website & your business as a whole!

So, Why Does Your Business Need SEM and PPC?

SEM and PPC represent the best way to see huge results in a quick turnaround. As soon as you launch one of these campaigns, you’ll start seeing feedback. Compare this to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is a standard practice of ours when building websites, but it’s a more time-consuming process. Adding content to your website organically increases SEO, but it can take 6+ months. If you’re looking for results quickly, SEM and PPC are the ways to go. It’s the best way to see a return on ad spend, even compared to traditional ad spend. 

For example, think about a billboard. No matter where it’s placed, you’ll know an approximate number of people will drive past your billboard. But you have no way of knowing how many of those will act on seeing it, then if they go to your website, make a phone call, or send an email because of it. You also miss the opportunity to “retarget” customers who decide to not engage with your brand. (If you want to know more about that, we’ll share more information in the future!) All that money you spent on a billboard is in question: did it work as well as you hoped? With SEM & PPC, you don’t have to worry about if it’s working. You’ll see results right away, and be able to optimize and find more value in digital advertising from there. 

A Few More Things You Should Know

Here’s the thing with PPC and SEM. Because there is so much you can track and so many possibilities, it’s difficult to jump in as a beginner. Going in blind and figuring it out as you go can result in wasted ad spend, which affects your bottom line. Google Analytics, Ads, and Tag Manager (yep, there are even more free tools available) offer tutorials and certifications, but not everyone has the time to add more tasks to their workload. Additionally, that doesn’t even begin to cover the labor required to set up these ads, optimize them, and collect insights, which actually results in value. 

Here at Romega, we’ve brought in team members who are the best at what they do, and that especially includes paid digital advertising. It’s an ever-changing industry. The goalposts are always moving, and our specialists are optimizing all the time. There’s constant work to be done to maintain our clients’ campaigns, and we make it a huge priority. 

If you’re looking for a partner to manage PPC and SEO for you, Romega Digital can help. But first, we want to know what your goals are for your website and your business. So let us know! We can’t wait to find out what’s possible for you online.