Should you focus on SEO or on SEM? Which one deserves the bigger budget as your company deliberates on its digital marketing strategy this year? The answer isn’t about choosing either one, but about doing both.
Which brings us to the question above—what is search marketing? In this guide, we go beyond the search marketing definition and explain its importance and the techniques experts commonly use in SEO and SEM. We also provide search marketing software examples to help you get started.
Detailed Guide to Search Marketing Table of Contents
What is search marketing?
Search marketing is a strategy using unpaid (organic) and paid means to gain traffic from search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and Bing, but mostly Google as the tech giant corners about 70% of the search engine market.
How does it differ from SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing)? Simple, it’s the umbrella term. Search marketing includes both SEO and SEM tactics, although some people still interchange search marketing and SEM.
Search marketing aims to capture leads by targeting the keywords entered by people in the search box. The targeting actually happens on the search results page, a.k.a. SERP (search engine results page), where search results (organic) and ads (paid) are displayed. Which one will the searcher click? That’s the holy grail of search marketing, to get that click and drive leads to your web page.
Why is search marketing important?
When you realize that 80% of consumers start their product research on search engines, or that 65% of ecommerce sessions come from search, you know you can’t ignore search marketing. Whether you are a restaurant, an online shop, a B2B service, or whatever business, you need a presence on relevant SERPs to catch prospects at that moment when they may be searching for what you can offer.
Also, if you find yourself choosing between SEO and SEM, don’t. They both drive leads at different buying stages. You need both to optimize your sales funnel.
Here’s why. People who click on organic results are likely top-of-the-funnel (TOFU) leads. They may not be aware of you but are searching for a solution that you can fill in (for instance, someone looking for “key project management software features”). On the other hand, people who click on ads are usually at the middle-of-the-funnel (MOFU)—or even bottom-of-the-funnel—who are open or ready to make a purchase (for instance, someone clicking on an ad, “Why You Need Wrike Now”). They’ve gone past the TOFU research stage. They know you or want to know you, hence the click.
As you might have imagined, these can be the same set of people. Through the use of cookies for remarketing, you can retarget TOFU leads with search ads (more of this below). So having both SEO and SEM, a.k.a. search marketing, helps you drive leads from top to bottom of your sales funnel.
To get started with search marketing, you need to know about SEO and SEM. Coordinating SEO tactics with SEM in campaigns makes for a solid search marketing foundation. You get to rank on SERP pages and ads.
SEO vs. SEM
To have a solid search marketing strategy, you need more than knowing the definition of SEO vs. SEM, but a good understanding of their best practices and techniques.
What is SEO?
SEO is the process of gaining visibility on search results through organic means. The goal is to have your web page ranked on a relevant SERP because the more visible you are on search results, the higher the chances you’ll get attention and drive traffic to your website.
Statistics show that the top search result has a 28.5% click-through rate (CTR or the probability of people clicking) while the next two spots have a 15.7% and 11% CTR, respectively. Hence, websites employ SEO techniques to gain the top spot.
How does it work?
Google and other search engines use bots called spiders to crawl billions of web pages and index them by relevance. They use search algorithm factors such as keywords, EAT (expertise, authority, trustworthiness), content quality, search intent, backlinks, etc. as a basis to decide which web pages to display on SERPs. SEO techniques help you meet these factors.
But Google penalizes some SEO techniques and promotes other techniques. That’s why you need to know about white hat vs. black hat in SEO.
White Hat vs. Black Hat
White hat simply refers to legitimate SEO techniques while black hat is the opposite: The latter games the search algorithm to earn a quick ranking. Understandably, Google frowns upon black hat as it messes up with its algorithm and, critically, user experience. You should, too, because it’s a form of cheating and, if Google flags you, your website can be banned from appearing on search results.
Some of the black hat SEO practices include click baits, link schemes, sneaky redirects, keyword stuffing and content farming.
On-page vs. Off-page SEO
You also need to know that SEO techniques are divided between internal and external factors that influence your search ranking. On-page SEO is the internal factors you can control such as loading speed, internal linking and tags, while off-page SEO is the external factors that impact your ranking. These include backlinks (websites linking to you), domain authority and social mentions.
SEO is all about establishing a reputation of credibility, authority and reliability. It requires long-term planning and consistency to see results. Here are the common SEO techniques employed by experts.
Factors That Contribute To SEO
Link building: 29
Link building
%Behavioral and mobile signals: 24
Behavioral and mobile signals
%Google my business signals: 19
Google my business signals
%Content : 14
Content
%Source: radialcreations.com
Designed by10 SEO Techniques
This list aims to help you get a big picture of the common SEO techniques. For details, you can check our SEO guide for ecommerce.
1. Organize keywords around TOFU, MOFU, BOFU
When you think of keywords, think of where they are used in the buyer’s journey. You want to target keywords across the marketing and sales funnel so as not to miss out on prospects. Critically, you want to cover keywords that drive leads to conversions, the goal of your SEO strategy. For example, an HR software vendor can have the following keywords covering the entire buyer’s journey:
- TOFU – what is HR software?
- MOFU – top HR software
- BOFU – [NAME OF HR SOFTWARE] pricing
2. Find your long-tail keywords
These are longer keyword phrases or more specific searches. For instance, “top HR software for small businesses” is a long-tail keyword versus “top HR software,” which is broader in scope. While long-tail keywords have lower search volume, they tend to have higher CTR because the searcher has a clear intent of what he wants.
The long-tail keyword is the bridge that connects his idea to your product’s value proposition. Targeting long-tail keywords also means less competition. You are narrowing down SERP competition to your direct competitors.
3. Find keyword gaps
Your competitors may be ranking for keywords that you don’t. These are called keyword gaps. You can do this manually, but with the help of SEO software, you can perform keyword gap analysis fast. Simply enter your domain and your competitors’ and the software will highlight the keywords you’re missing out on.
4. Avoid keyword cannibalization
This happens when you have more than one article anchored on the same core keyword. They compete not only with other websites but with each other, thus diluting your ranking power. Make sure that each core keyword is assigned to one article alone.
5. Optimize your articles and web pages
These are best practices you should apply in your articles and web pages that, when aggregated as a whole, boost your website’s ranking chances. Think of content SEO and technical SEO, the former referring to techniques you apply in your content while the latter to those applied on the web page backend.
Examples of content SEO are:
- applying header tags to help Google discern the article’s parts
- using keywords as image alt text and image filename
- embedding the core keyword in the title and in the opening
- adding internal and external links
- using bullet lists
Examples of technical SEO are:
- using title tags
- inserting meta description
- designing mobile responsiveness
- ensuring safe browsing
- using HTTPS
- including a sitemap on your website
6. Plan content around topic clusters
Since Google’s Hummingbird algorithm update in 2013, search engines have focused on topics instead of keywords to deliver relevant pages. Topic clusters are a way of organizing your content around related topics to help searchers find the answer to their queries.
In that way, you align your content with search intent, a major factor in the search algorithm. For example, people searching for “top HR software” is likely to search also for “what to look for in HR software.” Some of them may even search for “what is HR software?” as a refresher. These three articles form a topic cluster.
7. Demonstrate expertise
Expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness or EAT are baked into Google’s search algorithm. The search engine looks for EAT signals such as the author’s credibility, the site’s reputation, content relevance and timeliness and the content’s purpose.
Some of the things you can do to demonstrate EAT are:
- collaborate with an expert for authoritative content
- back your claims or stats
- use and link to credible sources only
- highlight the author’s expertise or experience
- build your social media traction for a reputation
8. Optimize Google’s SERP features
Google has SERP features that try to answer search queries right off the search result page. For instance, “People also ask” displays answers near the top of search results. Another feature is Google’s voice search. In both features, you have higher chances of getting picked by framing parts of your article in a question-answer format, with a header for the question and a body for the answer.
9. Do outreach marketing
Google doesn’t really frown on link building but on excessive use of backlinks from spammy sites. Getting backlinks from credible sources is a major ranking factor. But how to do this? You need outreach marketing or, in a traditional sense, a PR plan to reach out to credible websites and ask for cooperation.
You can write a guest post on a targeted website or pitch to an editor to feature your content on the target website. You can also look for link gaps or broken links on the target website and offer your relevant content as a link replacement. Or, turn brand mentions into backlinks. Preferably, have a PR expert do the outreach marketing for you as this requires full-time work and networking.
10. Avoid toxic links
Never think of going the route of getting spammy links like bought links, sneaky redirects, negative SEO and directory spamming. Google has since penalized websites using these tactics, many of which had to put up the shutters as a result.
What is SEM?
Any search marketing meaning involves SEM, the practice of using paid displays on SERPs. While SEO targets TOFU leads, SEM aims to attract MOFU and BOFU leads, people who may be ready to buy. Hence, SEM is often used to promote deals, freebies, coupons and discounts or push the product’s proposition.
Likewise, SEM also involves retargeting or remarketing, that is, displaying ads by following the cookies embedded in the browser of people who have visited your topical content.
As you might have expected, Google Ads is the major ad platform when it comes to search advertising. Ad formats take a variety of forms, from text-based ads to visual product listing ads (PLAs).
Similar to SEO, SEM relies on keywords to appear on relevant search results. And like SEO, SEM also involves algorithm factors—known as Quality Score—to determine the ad rank, or which ads to display on SERP.
How SEM Works
Ads are usually priced on pay per click (PPC), also called cost per click (CPC). For each click on your ad, you pay a rate. You can also pay on a cost per mile (CPM), paying a rate for every 1,000 times your ad is displayed (ad impressions).
As ad space on page one of SERPs is limited, advertisers bid to be displayed. This is called an ad auction. Generally, you set a maximum amount that you’re willing to pay and, combined with your Quality of Score, Google assigns you an ad rank with respect to other competing ads. Take note that pricing isn’t the only factor to outbid your competitors. As mentioned, Quality of Score impacts ad ranking big time.
Quality of Score
Quality of Score is Google’s diagnostic tool to measure ads on a scale of 1-10. The higher the score, the more relevant your ad and landing page to Google.
Quality of Score doesn’t factor in your website’s SEO. Rather, it calculates the score at the ad level.
Here are the factors that impact Quality of Score:
- Expected CTR – the probability of your ad being clicked
- Ad relevance – your ad’s relevance to search intent
- Landing page experience – your landing page’s relevance to search intent
- historical impressions – the past performance of ads with exact keywords as your ad
Other factors such as location, devices used in search, time of day and ad extensions influence your ad’s chances of getting displayed.
How SMBs Track Search Marketing Success
clutch.com
Designed by7 SEM Techniques
1. Target specific keywords
Targeting the broader audience may seem like a bigger market, but often, people here are less engaged, resulting in low CTR. On the contrary, you have a higher chance of getting the attention of a niche audience with focused messaging. For instance, instead of targeting “HR software for small business,” using “HR software for home-based small business” may result in higher CTR.
2. Bid high on the most important keywords
Appropriate more budget to your keywords with the most clicks to solidify your bid. They may not necessarily mean your main keywords, which are expected to have more competitors, but niche ones. Gaining an upper hand in ad bidding takes a lot of time and effort. So, once you gain traction in one keyword, pour more money into it.
3. Do an A/B test
Like an ad campaign, push your best ad by doing an A/B test. What you want to compare here are the initial CTR and improvement rate. The elements to test include the ad copy and visual and the landing page’s headlines, forms, social proof and other landing page elements.
4. Mind the time of day
Time-bound businesses like restaurants should bid more during the hours immediately preceding their peak hours. For example, if you offer lunch meals, try bidding higher 2-3 hours before noon.
5. The ad and its landing page should match
As discussed in Quality of Score, Google scores your ad based on its relevance to its landing page. Both should have the same tone, offer and keywords. A mismatch lowers your ad’s chances of getting displayed.
6. Use negative keywords
These are keywords you don’t want to rank, for example, around political issues, double entendres and foreign meanings. You can input your negative keywords in Google Ads and most ad platforms.
7. Measure performance
As with any campaign, measuring search ad performance points you to the best possible ROI. What are the metrics to measure? The number of clicks, CTR, ad position, budget allocation, etc. Give the cost per conversion and conversion rate more attention, too, as they directly impact the ROI.
Examples of Search Marketing Software
Semrush
Semrush is a marketing platform with 20 SEO tools. It also features project, domain and keyword analytics, reporting and a content marketing platform. The platform includes a plagiarism checker, page auditing and post tracking. Plans start from $119.95 per month.
SE
SE Ranking is an SEO software with powerful tools for keyword analysis, keyword grouping and Google Local tracking. It also features tools for PPC, SERP tracking, social media management and backlinks monitoring. Pricing starts at $18.60 per month.
Raven
Raven Tools helps you manage SEO, paid advertising and social media conversations. It has rich reporting tools, including competitive insights, SEO auditing and email marketing. Subscription starts from $109 per month.
Moz
Moz features basic and advanced SEO tools, such as competitive analytics, keyword explorer, link explorer, on-page recommendations, and weekly crawls and rank monitoring. Plans start at $99 per month.
Yoast
Yoast is a popular SEO app known for its WordPress plugin. It features technical and content SEO tools, blog analytics and ecommerce SEO. Pricing is on a by-quote basis.
Leveraging Search Marketing Software
Now that you have a clearer idea of search marketing, you might want to know more about search marketing software. You can manually conduct search marketing, but that will eat up your time. Top SEO solutions like Semrush will surely make search marketing easier for you.
They have tools for keyword research, competitor analysis, link-building opportunities, content optimization and more that can speed up things with just a few clicks. More critically, you get data-driven details, allowing you to craft your content and ads around keywords where you have a higher chance of ranking.
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