Search engine marketing (SEM) is a powerful digital marketing tool that can help New Zealand businesses reach their target audience and drive more sales. In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of SEM, why it’s a valuable tool for New Zealand businesses, and how to get started with a successful SEM campaign.
What is Search engine marketing (SEM)?
Search engine marketing is a form of digital advertising that allows businesses to place ads on search engine results pages (SERPs) when people search for specific keywords. These ads can appear in the form of text, images, or video and can be targeted to specific demographics, locations, and search intent. The most popular form of SEM is Google Ads, formerly known as Google AdWords.
Why is SEM important for New Zealand businesses?
SEM is important for New Zealand businesses for a few reasons:
- It allows businesses to reach their target audience quickly and effectively. SEM ads are triggered by specific keywords, meaning that they only appear to people who are searching for the products or services that the business offers. This means that businesses can reach potential customers at the exact moment they are searching for something related to their products or services.
- SEM provides a high return on investment (ROI). Compared to other forms of advertising, SEM is relatively inexpensive and offers a high ROI. Because businesses only pay when someone clicks on their ad, they are only paying for the leads that are most likely to convert into customers.
- SEM is highly measurable and trackable. With SEM, businesses can track the performance of their ads in real-time, making it easy to see which ads are working and which are not. This allows businesses to make data-driven decisions and optimise their campaigns for maximum efficiency and ROI.
Conversion actions that can be tracked
There are several different types of conversion actions that can be tracked in Google Ads. Some examples include:
- Website actions: This type of conversion action tracks specific actions that users take on your website, such as making a purchase, filling out a form, or signing up for a newsletter. This can be done using Google Ads’ website tracking code, also known as a conversion tracking tag, which you’ll place on specific pages of your website.
- Phone calls: You can also track phone calls made to your business as conversions in Google Ads. This can be done by using a call tracking number, which forwards calls to your business and records data about the call.
- Importing offline conversions: If you have conversion data from other sources such as Point of Sale systems, you can import those conversion data into Google Ads. This can give you more detailed and accurate picture of how you ads are impacting the overall conversion rate and revenue.
- App downloads and in-app actions: If you have a mobile app and would like to track downloads or specific actions within the app, you can track them as conversions in Google Ads.
- Store Visits: Google Ads allow businesses to track the number of visits to their physical store or location by people who engaged with their ads. For this you need to connect your Google My Business account and enable the ‘store visits’ option in Ads account.
It’s important to keep in mind that you can set different conversion values for different actions, if you want to track them all together. Additionally, you can set conversion window and conversion lookback window to control the time frame you want to look at when calculating conversions.
How to get started with SEM?
Getting started with SEM can seem daunting, but it’s actually quite simple. Here are the basic steps you’ll need to take:
- Define your target audience: Think about who your ideal customer is and what they are searching for. Use this information to create a list of keywords that are relevant to your business.
- Set up a Google Ads account: Go to Google Ads and create an account. This will give you access to the Google Ads platform, where you can create and manage your SEM campaigns.
- Create your first campaign: Within your Google Ads account, create a new campaign and choose the “search” network. Then, you’ll need to choose your targeting options and set your budget.
- Write your ad: Write an ad that is relevant to your target audience and includes at least one of the keywords you have chosen. Remember to include a call-to-action (CTA) that encourages people to click through to your website.
- Monitor and Optimise: Set up tracking and monitoring options in your account and ensure that you have conversion tracking on your website. Use this data to optimise your campaign and to improve the performance of your ad, and targeting settings.
Summary
Search engine marketing (SEM) can be a powerful tool for businesses looking to reach their target audience and drive more sales. By understanding the benefits of SEM, why it’s important for New Zealand businesses and how to get started, businesses can make an informed decision about whether or not to implement SEM into their marketing strategy.
