Search engine marketing requires constant attention, research, and techniques to stay cutting edge. We share 3 practical approaches to beat the competition.

For most internet-users, navigating a search engine is a near-ubiquitous part of the shopping experience. The majority of shoppers use search engines to research products, compare prices, find retail locations, and scrutinize reviews before adding a single item to their cart. In fact, a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation (NRF) in 2021 highlights that over 86% of consumers reported using a search engine to research products in their consideration set, up from 84% in 2020.

Search Engine Marketing can be a lucrative component of your marketing strategy, but there are certainly barriers to success. In this article, we discuss the key benefits of SEM and reveal three practical tips to accelerate your search marketing program.

‍

The Benefits of Search Engine Marketing

For savvy retailers, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) plays a huge role in attracting and converting customers. Given over $84.7M dollars are spent on search advertising annually, companies and their marketing departments recognize the many benefits of investing in search:

1. Increased Visibility. SEM helps your organization rank higher in search engine results and, in turn, increase traffic to your website. By targeting specific keywords, businesses can appear in front of consumers who are actively looking to purchase products and services related to their offerings.
2. Targeted Advertising. Beyond broad keywords, SEM enables organizations to segment their advertisements based on target demographics, locations, and interests. The more targeted you get, the higher likelihood of ending up in front of the right buyer at the right time.
3. Measurable Results. Unlike some traditional advertising methods, SEM provides detailed analytics and reporting. You can clearly see which campaigns are having an impact and where to double-down on your investment.
4. Cost Effective. With SEM, you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. This means you control the advertising cost down to the cent and pay for results.

While there are ample benefits to search engine marketing, there’s always a catch. Unless your organization has a sizable, dedicated team able to devote hours to keyword research and scrutinize every nickel spent, you might not find your search marketing program to be so successful.

How can you overcome this issue without adding expensive resources?

‍

Overcoming SEM Challenges

As marketing and analytics teams are faced with a tall order of maximize ROI for their organizations, every dollar is under intense pressure to perform. In search engine marketing, the sheer volume of keywords to manage, advertising dollars to watch, and impact to measure can be overwhelming. Here are three winning strategies to implement now and see immediate impact in your marketing program:

1. Focus on Quality. SEM is constantly evolving and algorithms are always changing. To stay ahead of the curve, help your marketing and analytics team prepare for changes by attending conferences, watching webinars, and engaging in training sessions to help inform your campaign strategies.
2. Test & Optimize. Implementing A/B testing can help your marketing teams test different ad copy, landing pages, and targeting options. Digging into the analytics will reveal which versions lead to better performance – then you can double down on the winners.
3. Automate. Save your team hours of manual data administration by automating tasks that can be performed with powerful technology tools. For instance, Concord built a keyword search accelerator that uses a natural language processing engine to perform supervised and unsupervised learning to match search categories and suggest new topics.

‍

Connect with Concord

Whether your organization is looking to build a solid search marketing program or optimize an existing initiative, finding dedicated marketing and analytics professionals can help as you assess areas of opportunity and work to improve your return on investment.

Concord is a consultancy that combines technology and industry depth with a get-it-done culture to enable resiliency, efficiency, and innovation. Whether you are trying to implement tools to optimize your search, improve data insights, or solve difficult business and technology issues, Concord can help.