How can SEM drive sales and conversions?

1 Define your goals and metrics

Before you launch any SEM campaign, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure it. Do you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or drive sales? What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will show you if your campaign is successful? For example, you might track conversions, cost per acquisition (CPA), return on ad spend (ROAS), or customer lifetime value (CLV). Having SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goals and metrics will help you plan, execute, and evaluate your SEM strategy.

2 Choose the right keywords and match types

Keywords are the foundation of any SEM campaign, as they determine when and where your ads will appear on search engines. You need to do thorough keyword research to find the most relevant and profitable keywords for your target audience and your offer. You also need to choose the right match types for your keywords, which are the rules that tell the search engines how closely your ads should match the user's query. For example, you can use exact match, phrase match, broad match, or modified broad match to control the level of specificity and flexibility of your keywords. The match types you choose will affect your reach, relevance, and cost of your SEM campaign.

3 Write compelling ad copy and landing pages

Your ad copy and landing pages are the main touchpoints between your SEM campaign and your potential customers. You need to make sure they are persuasive, engaging, and consistent. Your ad copy should highlight your unique selling proposition (USP), include a clear call to action (CTA), and match the user's intent and the keyword you are bidding on. Your landing pages should deliver on the promise of your ad copy, provide relevant and useful information, and guide the user to complete the desired action. You should also test different versions of your ad copy and landing pages to find out what works best for your audience and your goals.

4 Optimize your bids and budgets

Your bids and budgets are the main factors that determine how competitive and profitable your SEM campaign will be. You need to optimize them to get the most out of your ad spend and avoid wasting money on irrelevant or low-quality clicks. You can use different bidding strategies depending on your goals and metrics, such as manual, automated, or smart bidding. You can also use tools like bid modifiers, bid adjustments, or bid simulators to fine-tune your bids based on various criteria, such as device, location, time, or audience. You should also monitor your budget allocation and performance across different campaigns, ad groups, and keywords, and make adjustments as needed.

5 Track and analyze your results

The final step to drive sales and conversions with SEM is to track and analyze your results. You need to use tools like Google Analytics, Google Ads, or third-party platforms to collect and measure data on your SEM campaign performance. You should also set up conversion tracking, which is a way to track when a user completes a valuable action on your website after clicking on your ad. This will help you understand how your SEM campaign is contributing to your bottom line and what areas you need to improve. You should also compare your results with your goals and metrics, and use insights and feedback to optimize your SEM campaign over time.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?