Understanding SEM
We understand why people end up confused about SEM and we find that limits their probability of success quite a bit. So this section is here to help you get past those limitations about how SEM works that seem to slow down so many SEM users.
But let's start off with the first hurdle to mastering SEM: It simply does not seem possible.
Google has tens of millions of active SEM campaigns running at any point in time in millions of accounts throughout the world. And when a Google searcher types in a few words and hits "enter", Google runs that search against all those campaigns and returns the answers (hundreds of them) perfectly organized on the Google SERP. In a fraction of a second - six billion times a day.
We don't really understand how that's possible. But we do believe it works. And your campaigns can be a part of it and get you customers. Profitably.
Google search engine marketing can be referred to as: SEM, search marketing, or PPC (pay-per-click) marketing. But they all refer to the same thing: showing your fully customized ad on the Google search results page and paying for each click on your ad. You are advertising directly to potential customers while they are searching on Google for precisely the things you offer within your marketplace.
Google search marketing gives you the opportunity to "fish" for customers - who really want to buy what you are selling - out of the six billion Google searches each day
Because of this unique capability, Google search marketing is completely different from any other kind of marketing. It isn’t like SEO. It isn’t like display advertising. Or YouTube marketing. Or email marketing. Or any other kind of marketing program. Search marketing is a unique opportunity to market AND SELL very quickly.
Understanding how SEM works, and how well it can work, can be pretty tough. SEM clicks are expensive and can waste money faster than you can reload your credit cards. So let’s try to help you understand what makes the clicks from SEM so valuable and how to take advantage of them. If you have not seen SEM used successfully on a large scale, it is very tough to understand how well it can work.
SEM is a looooooooong way past conventional marketing or lead generation - it’s taking somebody who’s never heard of you and getting them to buy in a few minutes
We all use Google for dozens of different reasons. We search, we look, we change the search, we look some more. We bookmark, we read, we watch. Etcetera. We might come back to that subject dozens of times over the course of years.
But yesterday we needed a new motorcycle insurance policy. Or a rare vinyl record for a collector customer. Or a way to get tested for rabies. Or a doctor who can diagnose piercing abdominal pain. Or a lawyer who can deal with that bad IRS notice. Or a plumber, or repairman, or a babysitter, or a . . .
We don't search for "need" anything like the way we normally search on Google.
We think about what we are typing in and what we are seeing on Google. We think about where we are located and how we could get the things we need. Google search marketing gives you a shot at finding those searchers out of the six billion each day that need what you are selling. And that is so difficult and potentially rewarding a job, that companies find those expensive SEM clicks to be a cost effective and efficient way to find those customers who are ready, willing, and able to buy.
Google search marketing is a way of getting very motivated buyers of your products/services to become your new customers quickly. That is a very challenging and valuable goal. A solid base of understanding how it is able to do that is absolutely required.
Your clicks will probably cost between $2 and $20 – each. If all you are doing is generating new website visitors, you will lose a lot of money very quickly.
On the other hand, if you understand how to identify very well qualified potential customers and you understand how you will take advantage of their “buying intent” when they show up on your landing page, you can create new customers on a mass scale. Customers you might not get any other way.
A Google search campaign lets you precisely target specific searches – which search terms, from which locations, on which devices, and at which times of day you want to target – and then show that Google searcher an ad/landing page targeted specifically for their search.
This ability to relate your “solution” to a Google searcher’s “problem”, while they are looking on Google, is very big. And the system (Google Ads) that you use to run your campaigns has some unique features that can really help you get real customers in a very scientific, efficient fashion.
