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S

SEM
Search Engine Marketing

Idea Forge can help with your Google, Facebook, Bing and other online ad services. We look in depth at bounce rates, conversions and your overall ROI to make informed decisions on your ad investments.

S

SEM
Search Engine Marketing

Idea Forge can help with your Google, Facebook, Bing and other online ad services. We look in depth at bounce rates, conversions and your overall ROI to make informed decisions on your ad investments.

What Is Search Engine Marketing (SEM)?

A Guide to Pay-Per-Click Ads. You are not isolated if you have ever asked, “what is SEM?” Numerous words in digital marketing have the same pronunciation or have identical meanings. SEM, or search engine marketing, is the practice of increasing search exposure through the use of paying techniques. Historically, the word “search engine marketing” was used to refer to both organic search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search. However, it is almost often used to refer to paid search ads. SEM, or search engine marketing, is the practice of increasing search exposure through the use of paying techniques. Advertisers pay for the right to have their advertisements appear as search results on search engine results sites.

SEM is a marketing technique in which advertisers pay for advertisements to feature as search results on search engine results sites (SERPs). They target certain keywords in order for users to see an ad from the brand as they conduct a request for those phrases. The brand is only paid when a customer clicks on the advertisement. Paid search advertisements appear on almost every search results list. Usually, these paying placements are seen at the top and bottom of the list. They use the word “Ad” to indicate that the placement is compensated.

Pay Per Click (PPC) Marketing

PPC is a type of paid marketing in which a brand makes a digital advertisement and is compensated when a customer clicks on it. When PPC advertisements appear in search results, this is referred to as SEM. However, PPC is not necessarily associated with SEM.

When PPC techniques are applied to non-search networks, they are not called SEM. PPC can be found on websites that fund digital advertising, such as Promoted Tweets or Facebook Advertisements. PPC also covers Google display advertising, which charge brands when a user clicks on a banner advertisement on a website.

Thus, although PPC is a type of search engine marketing, it may also refer to a form of social or show advertising.

SEM Platforms

A search engine marketing website is a search engine in which a brand will insert search advertisements that are viewed while users conduct a search. Google and Bing are the most often used search engine marketing tools.

  • Google Ads is the most commonly used search engine marketing (SEM) tool. With billions of Google searches done daily, it will assist you in reaching the biggest online audience.
  • Bing Ads asserts that it will attract 3 million searchers that Google cannot. Bing Advertising connects you to searchers who don’t exclusively use Google by offering ads on affiliate pages such as Yahoo and MSN.

WordPress Design Pricing

Here are some packages that are used for guidelines in pricing for our clients.  All packages and options are fully customizable and if you would like a more refined quote please use the tool here.

Starter

$100000One Time Fee
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Standard

$200000One Time Fee
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Professional

$300000One Time Fee
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Forged

$400000One Time Fee
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WordPress Design Pricing

Here are some packages that are used for guidelines in pricing for our clients.  All packages and options are fully customizable and if you would like a more refined quote please use the tool here.

Starter

$100000One Time Fee
Order Now

Standard

$200000One Time Fee
Order Now

Professional

$300000One Time Fee
Order Now

Forged

$400000One Time Fee
Order Now

Our Work

Make sure to have a hosting & maintenance plan!

SEM Keyword Types

When you create a search engine marketing plan, you choose the keywords you want to target and/or stop. There are four distinct categories of keywords that you can use in your search engine marketing campaigns.

  1. Broad match keywords are used to target synonyms for a name. This category covers related words, singular and plural forms, misspellings, stemmings, and synonyms of the target word. For instance, when a strategy is targeting the large match keyword virtual assistant, it can also include the terms virtual assistants, online assistant, and virtual team.
  2. Phrase match keywords are those that target the same phrase, as well as any phrases that have terms preceding or following the target keyword. For instance, when a campaign is targeting the expression match keyword virtual assistant, it could also target the following terms: best virtual assistant, find a virtual assistant, and employ a virtual assistant.
  3. Exact match keywords are those that target words that are extremely closely related to the keyword. This involves misspellings, singular and plural forms, stemmings, abbreviations, reordered sentences, paraphrases, and similarly related terms that share the same match term’s search purpose. For instance, if a campaign is promoting the exact match keyword virtual assistant, it can also include the terms virtual assistants, virtual assistance, and virtuals assistant.
  4. Negative keywords are used to filter out phrases that you do not want to target. Negative keywords are variants of broad match, expression match, and exact match keywords that you want to avoid using in your campaign. These terms may be semantically linked to your keywords but have little to do with the target term’s search purpose, your campaign, or ad copy. Negative keywords for the goal term virtual assistant include the terms virtual assistant pay and virtual assistant preparation. If the advertisement is attempting to reach businesses seeking to employ a virtual assistant, the intent of those words is irrelevant; therefore, they should be omitted from the promotion.
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Testimonials

Eric and his team really know their stuff. The website that they created was not only good looking, it was functional and user friendly. Eric was always easy to get a hold off to make any changes and great to work with. I was impressed with how knowledgeable they were in all the ways that a website can be enhanced through search optimization and social media. I highly recommend Idea Forge Solutions for all of your web needs.

Stan Ivanov, Apex Transit

I shopped around for a couple different companies to design my website and logo and stumbled across ideal forge and boy am sure glad I did. I really cannot say enough about this group. Eric’s and his team did a fantastic job on the website and nailed my new company logo on the second draft. Great People.

Jeff Johnson, Piedmont Painting Pros

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Don't Forget a Social Media Posting Plan!

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Account Structure for SEM

The account layout refers to the way the search engine marketing strategies are structured and configured. It organizes pertinent themes and keywords into campaigns inside your account. This Google map illustrates the account structure’s hierarchy.

Campaigns: As the account’s highest level, each campaign has its own distinct objective, budget, bid plan, and targeting settings. Campaigns are often used to group accounts together around broader topics such as particular goods, programs, target demographic types, or promotions. For instance, a network that connects virtual assistants with clients can run two campaigns: one to attract virtual assistants and another to attract virtual assistants.

Ad Groups: Inside a campaign, ad categories are used to segment the campaign into even more detailed themes. Most ads have a limited number of ad groups, and it is advised that no more than seven to ten ad groups be used per campaign. For instance, a campaign aimed at virtual assistants may have two ad groups: one for part-time virtual assistants and another for full-time virtual assistants.

Keywords: Each ad category has its own collection of target keywords and advertisements. The keywords and ad copy are tailored to the ad group’s specific demographic and style. It is advised that each ad category contains two or three ads and no more than twenty keywords. For instance, the ad group targeting full-time virtual assistants may generate advertisements and use keywords that speak specifically to virtual assistants seeking full-time jobs, while the ad group targeting part-time virtual assistants may target keywords and use language referring to part-time work.

Testimonials

I shopped around for a couple different companies to design my website and logo and stumbled across ideal forge and boy am sure glad I did. I really cannot say enough about this group. Eric’s and his team did a fantastic job on the website and nailed my new company logo on the second draft. Great People.

Jeff Johnson, Piedmont Painting Pros

Eric and his team really know their stuff. The website that they created was not only good looking, it was functional and user friendly. Eric was always easy to get a hold off to make any changes and great to work with. I was impressed with how knowledgeable they were in all the ways that a website can be enhanced through search optimization and social media. I highly recommend Idea Forge Solutions for all of your web needs.

Stan Ivanov, Apex Transit

Begin Developing Your SEM Strategy

Now that you can honestly respond to the question “what is SEM?” you can begin preparing and implementing your SEM strategy. Begin by using the resources discussed in this article to identify the most effective keywords for your campaigns.

Sign up for a free preview of Idea Forge’s Plan to gain access to paid keyword analysis software that will assist you in identifying the most often searched keywords by your clients. Additionally, you’ll have access to audience profiling and competitive website research resources that can assist you in learning about your audience and rivals, allowing you to create effective paid search marketing strategies.