SEM Ads: What You Need to Know [Infographic]

The acronym “SEM” stands for Search Engine Marketing and the term “SEM ads” is commonly used to refer to paid search, including PPC (pay per click) and CPC (cost per click). Search Engine Land defines SEM this way: “SEM is the process of gaining website traffic by purchasing ads on search engines.” Learn about SEM ads and how they can benefit your business in the following infographic.

Benefits of SEM ads

1. Fast Results Organic search engine optimization (SEO) efforts take time. Regardless of how optimized your content is for search engines, you won’t start to see results right away. On the other hand, SEM ads bring immediate traffic to your site from the search engines. This makes paid search advertising a great complementary tactic that works hand in hand with your digital marketing strategy to help support your SEO efforts.

2. Generate More Qualified Leads Another benefit of SEM ads is that they help dental practices bring in more leads to their website. More than that, the leads coming to your website from your ads are more relevant. With paid ads, you are able to strategically target the types of patients who are most likely to be interested in your brand. This means the traffic you drive to your site from these ads is more qualified.

3. Measurable Results Another benefit of paid search advertising is that it provides highly measurable results. You can gauge and track every aspect of your SEM ad campaigns, including the number of clicks, the cost per click, and how many conversions are coming from these clicks. This helps you make better use of your ad budget and find ways to improve your results over time.

4. Improve Brand Recognition PPC ads on Google and Facebook can also help your practice improve brand awareness over time. Not every user is going to click on your ad when it appears in the results page or page feed. However, the more often they search for related industry keywords, the more often they will be exposed to your brand name and site link. This helps improve brand recognition and may result in a conversion later.

5. Improve Local Search Visibility Many practices are targeting patients in close proximity to their location. The good news is that paid search advertising is a great way to target local traffic. When potential customers use their mobile devices to search for stores nearby, they will see your SEM ads and be able to click on them for directions to your location. There is also a “call now” option on mobile ads that allows the user to call your practice directly from the ad.

6. Budget-Friendly Though it may seem counter-intuitive because you are paying per ad click, paid search advertising can actually be budget-friendly. This makes it an ideal tactic for both startup and established dental practices working within a limited budget. Since you are able to target specific types of patients and measure every aspect of your campaign along the way, there are plenty of ways to optimize your budget and boost ROI. You can set budget caps, and the platforms will not spend more than you tell them to.

Reasons to consider hiring an agency for SEM ads

Here are a few reasons why you might want to consider hiring an agency to manage your paid search advertising:

No time. One of the biggest challenges with SEM ad management is the time that it requires. If you want to develop effective and optimized campaigns, you need to spend time researching keywords, developing ad content, and staying up to date with the latest best practices in PPC management. If you don’t have the time to properly manage your campaigns, it may be time to hire an agency.

Lack of expertise. Paid search advertising requires knowledge and expertise to implement effective campaigns. If you don’t have a PPC certified expert on your team, then you will need to work with someone who has experience developing and implementing successful PPC campaigns.

Less-than-desirable results. With so many moving pieces involved in SEM campaign management, it can be difficult to determine what’s holding you back from success. Working with an agency that can identify areas for improvement and make changes to improve your SEM ad campaign results enable you to get the campaign results you are hoping for.

Limited budget. When your dental practice is working with a limited ad budget, it’s vital to optimize your campaigns to get the best results. An SEM ads agency has a team of experts that know the right tactics to get you the best results. No matter how small your budget is, they can help you maximize it.

Ultimately, a marketing agency can help you improve your ROI. With a team of experts at your service, you can make sure that your SEM ads are optimized. That way, you are getting the best results possible without wasting or misusing your advertising budget.

Key SEM advertising statistics

• Startup small businesses earn $3 in revenue for every $1.60 they spend on Google AdWords. source
• Established businesses make an average of $2 in income for every $1 they spend in AdWords. source
• PPC visitors convert 50.6% more than organic search visitors. source
• Search ads can increase brand awareness by 80%. source
• 98% of searchers choose a business that is on page 1 of the results they get. source This emphasizes the importance of ranking on the first page of Google. If you’re investing in SEO (which I highly recommend for many of the same reasons listed here), then advertising is yet another way to get your business on the first page to ensure you in front of 98% of your audience.
• 70% of mobile searchers call a business directly from Google Search. source

Interested in learning more about how SEM ads could help YOUR dental practice? Contact us at (360) 283-5001 or book a time on Angela’s calendar to chat about how we can increase visibility for your business.