3 Essential SEO and SEM Campaign Tips You Shouldn’t Miss!

Think of your search engine marketing (SEM) and optimisation like fine wines.

If created and managed correctly, they’ll only get better with age.

It doesn’t matter if you’re running a pay per click campaign (PPC) or more traditional search engine optimisation (SEO) tactics, if you devote time, effort, and money into your SEO and SEM campaigns, you’ll notice significant results.

SEO vs. SEM: What’s the Difference

SEM campaigns are digital ads. Using a PPC service, such as Google AdWords or BingAds, you’ll research keywords and select the terms and phrases you want to bid on, and pay a predetermined amount for each time a user clicks on your link. Depending on the service you use, that search engine will then display your link in a dedicated ad section at the top of a results page that’s relevant to the keywords you purchased.

In SEO campaigns, you also look at keywords. But instead of paying for ad placement and clicks, you’re researching which phrases are popular and relevant to your product or company, while considering the competition for those keywords. You’ll then use various search engine optimisation tactics to integrate that keyword (or variations of the keyword) into your page to improve your online positioning on search engine results pages (SERPs).

Why Search Engine Marketing is Important for Businesses

Companies are earning more than ever as a result of digital advertising. According to a report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, digital ad revenues hit $19.6 billion in the first quarter of 2017. This includes channels such as digital video, mobile, and – you guessed it – search. Businesses are beginning to recognise this opportunity, and as a result in 2017, search is expected to take up 43% of digital ad spend.

That doesn’t mean you can just launch any search campaign and immediately increase your website visitors or reap the benefits of these record revenues. Here are three things you need to remember to have a successful SEO or SEM campaign.

1. You Need to Spend Money to Make Money – Most of the Time

It doesn’t matter if you are running your search campaigns internally or you hire an outside firm (which could cost thousands of dollars a month), your SEM and SEO Campaigns should take up a respectable portion of your content marketing budget.

According to Search Engine Journal’s State of Digital Marketing, the majority of marketers are spending a few hundred dollars per month on SEO and anywhere from $50 to more than $5,000 for their PPC campaigns. Each campaign is different, so you’ll have a different set of goals, keywords, and budget for each project you run.

2. It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint

You likely won’t notice immediate results from your campaign. Josh Steimle, a lead gen firm owner and Forbes contributor, says it could take four to six month to determine if your SEO is working.

Think of it this way, the longer you run your campaign, more people will visit your site from SERPs, and you’ll see more traffic (and hopefully conversions). The increase in traffic will also boost your site’s popularity through shares and ranking on SERPs, which in turn will lead to even more clicks. Once you hit your stride, you’ll see exponential growth.

Still not buying it? Consider these successful search campaigns that took time to develop:

• The new website reaches the top position on Google in one year for the search term “PHP developer.”
• Website conversions increased by 85% in one year
• Zero to 100,000 visitors in one year, as featured on Search Engine Land

3. If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try Again

No one is perfect, and you probably won’t nail your search campaigns correctly on the first try. Keeping in mind, you’ll need a few months to start seeing success; it’s important that you are constantly tracking performance and making necessary changes along the way. Consider an SEO audit if your results are far below what you expected.

The Search World is Constantly Changing

Search engines are constantly changing their algorithms, and popular keywords come and go. So make sure you’re staying up to date on these search trends, and adjust your SEO and SEM campaigns accordingly.

And remember, patience is a virtue.