The Do’s and Don’ts of Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Are you starting your search engine advertising journey? There’s a LOT of information out there on best practices and what you “should be” doing, but it’s important to make sure that your information is coming from the best sources.
Our search engine marketing (SEM) experts came together to build a list of the best practices that we use to create meaningful, valuable results for our clients.
Do:
Learn and follow the advertising guidelines from Google.
Search engines like Google have some rules and regulations that their advertisers are expected to follow, so it’s important to make sure that your ads and ad content are within the approved guidelines to get the most out of your advertising.
Connect your website and your ad account to analytics software.
When you connect your ad account and your website to analytics tools like GA4 and Google Tag Manager, you get a better understanding of how your ads perform and what kind of traffic they drive to your website. It’s a ton of extra data about your traffic for free!
Use multiple ad types — call, responsive, dynamic, etc. — in each of your ad groups.
You don’t want your users to get tired of your brand from seeing the same ad over and over again. Using multiple ad types within your campaign gives your search engine the variety to show the right ads to the right people at the right time.
Use automation and rules to help you manage your campaigns (and use your time) more effectively.
Your time is valuable, and checking the mundanities of your SEM campaign is probably not the best use of that time. Setting up rules and automation for your search engine to follow will free up some of your mental space and time in your calendar to focus on other things.
Exclude locations you do not want to target with your ads (IE: other countries).
Getting the best results from your campaign means targeting the right people in the right places – digitally and geographically. Excluding locations from your target audience will ensure that you’re meeting your target audience where they’re at (literally).
Use your customer lists to target returning customers and build brand loyalty.
Stay top of mind for potential customers with data you already have! Upload your customer lists to your SEM accounts to retarget them and remind them of your brand and what they were looking at before.
Add in negative keywords to help your campaign target the right people at the right time.
Adding some negative keywords to your SEM campaigns gives your search engine a better idea of what your perfect potential customers are searching for. Negative keywords get you one step closer to a sale or new client!
Don’t:
Don’t break the bank by setting up a budget that’s not sustainable.
Work with your team or agency to find a budget that will provide you with great results without leaving your wallet empty.
Don’t let Google set up your campaign.
Using a search engine’s AI tools to build out your ads seems simple and can make the creation process less tedious, but knowledge is needed to set it up correctly and customize it to what your business needs.
Don’t just target everyone with your ads.
Identifying your audiences, their locations, and their interests will ensure that you’re getting the most bang for your buck.
Don’t set up your campaign and never check it again.
Search engine ad performance can be influenced throughout the lifetime of the campaign. Set up your campaigns, monitor them, and don’t be afraid to make changes to see if you can improve your results!
Don’t Feel Like Managing That Yourself? Do Let Us Help!
We get it — building your own search engine ad campaigns can be overwhelming, and sometimes it’s easier to let the professionals do it. If you want us to take over the to-do list, let’s chat.
We’ve been helping businesses grow and thrive online for more than 15 years, with custom digital lead-generation strategies backed by data so you know you’re getting your money’s worth.
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Tabitha Merkle
As a digital strategist at 9 Clouds, Tabitha loves the psychology behind digital marketing and uses it to find new ways to engage customers, driving exceptional results for clients. Learn more about Tabitha Merkle.
