For a long time, SEM, or search engine marketing as been a leading way to getting products out in front of target audiences. SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing. It’s all about running paid ads on search engines like Google or Bing. These ads show up when people search for specific keywords.
If you’re wondering how to do SEM marketing, you’ve come to the right guide. Here you’ll encounter pitfalls that can drown your Google Ads budget in an instant without giving you the results you’re looking for. You’ll also encounter tips that can help ensure you don’t end up going this direction.
Table of Contents
Neglecting Keyword Match Types
There are three main keyword match types: broad, phrase, and exact. Each one works differently, and using the wrong type can take your marketing campaign back a few, or many, notches.
- Broad match: Your Google ad shows up for related searches, even if they’re not an exact match. Say your keyword is “custom cakes,” your ad might show for “cupcake delivery” or “wedding desserts.”
- Phrase match: Your search ad shows only when a potential customer searches for your exact phrase (or close variations) in the same order. For “custom cakes,” it could trigger “order custom cakes online.”
- Exact match: Your ad shows only for the exact keyword you bid on. So, “custom cakes” would only trigger for “custom cakes,” not “custom birthday cakes.”
Going with broad match alone is risky because it can lead to irrelevant clicks. Phrase match is more targeted, but it can attract some irrelevant searches if your keyword has multiple interpretations (think “custom cakes” and “custom cake recipes”) that don’t align with selling cakes. Exact match is precise, that’s great, but it may cause you to miss out on related search queries like “custom birthday cakes” and others that have conversion potential.
The best approach is to go for a mix of all three match types. Start with an exact match for precision, add a phrase match for broader reach, and then bring in a broad match sparingly for discovery. A good keyword research tool can point you in the right direction.
Failing to Set a Clear Budget
You need to know how far you’re willing to go with your campaign. Keep in mind that search engines charge you every time someone clicks your Google ad, and those costs can rise so high, so fast. What can this translate to? Drained resources before you even see results.
On the other end, being a little mean with your budget may translate to an underfunded campaign. That means you likely won’t get enough data to optimize.
Best to decide how much you’re willing to spend daily or monthly. For example, if you’re testing SEM for the first time, start with a USD$10–USD$20 daily budget. Go higher if you see nothing but good or promising news. If you see a lot of flags, adjust and try again.
If you need help setting the right budget for your campaign or any other aspects, consider getting in touch with an SEM marketing agency with a proven track record or any other experts you trust. These pros know the ins and outs of search engine marketing strategy and can help you find a solution that suits your exact needs.
Ignoring Negative Keywords
If you want Google not to show your ad for certain items, you need to consider using negative keywords. Without them, your ads might show up in irrelevant searches, eating up your budget.
Take the example of a brand selling luxury watches. Relevant keywords for them include “luxury watches”. What happens is that their ad appears for “cheap watches”? They’ll likely attract an audience, but they’ll be low-intent users who are unlikely to buy.
The right way to approach this is to review search terms reports in Google Ads regularly. Add irrelevant terms as negative keywords. For example, if you sell luxury products, add “cheap,” “free,” and “discount” as negatives. This can help improve overall conversion rates.
Overlooking Ad Relevance
Matching your ad copy, keywords, and landing page to a search user’s intent is the art of ad relevance. If your ad doesn’t align with what the user is looking for, they’ll leave immediately. This leads to a high bounce rate, which in turn hurts your Quality Score. The result of this fallout is an increase in your cost-per-click, or CPC.
To keep these issues at bay, you’re better off keeping everything aligned by creating relevant content. If your ad says “Lose 10 Pounds in 30 Days,” your landing page should explain how that’s possible. Use the same language and tone throughout.
Skipping Conversion Tracking
If you want to know which ads are working and which need revisiting, conversion tracking is the way to go. Without this measure, you may have very little insight into which keywords, ads, or campaigns are effective. And when you don’t know what’s working, it won’t be so easy to optimize your digital marketing strategies effectively.
Focus on getting your conversion tracking mechanisms rolling from day one. Tools like Google Analytics or Google Ads’ built-in tracking can measure actions like click-through rate, form submissions, phone calls, or purchases.
Focusing Only on Traffic
Seeing all that traffic come to your business may seem empowering, but it’s not necessarily what you should be focusing on. The best approach is to keep an eye out for meaningful actions like purchases, sign-ups, or calls.
Never forget that every click translates to money out of your campaign budget, so when it doesn’t convert, you may as well call it a wasted budget. So, track the right metrics, regardless of traffic.
Overbidding on Competitive Keywords
Competitive keywords have a lot of conversion potential, but they have a way of aggressively eating into your budget. Bidding aggressively on them may not be the best idea.
Say you’re a startup selling skincare products, and you bid for the ultra-competitive “anti-aging cream.” The CPC is USD$ 8. If you have a CPC budget of USD$ 500, it’s only a matter of time before you’re out of cash.
However, if you go for a long-tail keyword like “natural anti-aging cream for women”, you can end up having less competition. Also, the CPC cost may be lower, maybe USD$ 2. You can stretch your budget longer and attract more qualified leads.
Final Thoughts
Knowing how to do SEM marketing can help you set up campaigns that not only attract attention but also convert. This guide has introduced you to some of the pitfalls that may trip you up on this road. Use the tips shared to get over them.
Where you find the going a little too fast, consider involving a search marketing agency worth its weight in gold. Their expertise in online marketing strategies can help you maximize the effectiveness of your campaign from the outset and deliver the results you’re looking for.
