SEM techniques and methods are moving and changing all the time. Because SEM is what we do, what we live and breathe, we stay current on SEM research. You really need a seasoned SEM team with a unique mix of talents to take your clients’ sites to the right place. A company that specialises in SEM is always going to be better at it than one which is diffracted and spread thinly across the broad range of disciplines that anything to do with the internet has now become.
As you are no doubt aware, the fundamental difference between traditional media and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is that SEM is targeted and so the people who see the links to your clients’ sites are people who are actually interested in your client’s product.
Advertising in traditional media is ‘broad’. It’s like throwing a bucket of paint on a wall and hoping that some of it gets to the right place. It relies a large amount on the idea that customers will impulse buy a product or that, purely by chance, they happened to be looking for your product when they heard or read the ad. SEM is targeted at those people who are looking for your products and it therefore has a better return on investment than any other marketing medium.
Only 2 out of 5 people read newspapers these days and how many of them do you think read the ads in detail if at all? The Yellow pages (the only other targeted form of marketing) give the names of other businesses offering the same service right beside yours and if your ad is small it will likely be dominated by your larger competition. The yellow pages offer too many choices and too much information to potential customers. People hearing a radio ad can’t see your product or logo and probably have to hear the ad 6 – 12 times before the message sinks in. Television costs a huge amount of money and to buy enough airtime to make a difference you will probably go broke before you know it. Research shows that consumers rely on search engine results to a greater extent than advertisements in other media during their decision making process:
Search Engine Results 41%
Print Ads 10%
TV Ads 9%
Between 68% -72% of searchers believe Organic/ Natural (SEO) results produce the most relevant information.
More than 93% of searchers won’t look beyond the results of the first two pages.
72% of searchers who use a search engine to look for a specific product or service will purchase or request more information from that company, only if they easily find what they are looking for when they land on your website.
Website-based leads are 62% more profitable than other forms of media. Investments in SEM generate higher returns than investments in other media.