SEM (Google Ads)

Search engines can also drive your success

There are a number of ways to organically optimize a website so that it ranks higher in searches and performs better. However, search engines can also be used as a paid marketing tool. Google Ads (previously Google Adwords) is an online advertising service for businesses wanting to display ads on the Google search network and its advertising partners. The program enables businesses to set a budget for advertising their products or services and only pay when people click on their ads. This ad service is largely focused on bidding on keywords.

Businesses that use Google Ads can create relevant ads using keywords related to what people searching on the Google search engine might look for. A keyword, when searched for, can trigger your ad to be shown. Google Ads appear at the top of the search results under the heading “Sponsored Links” and if your ad is clicked on by a user they will be directed to your website.

When choosing keywords for your campaigns, different matching options are available. The main keyword match options include the following:

• Broad Match: This reaches the most users by showing your ad whenever your keyword or a closely related keyword is searched for.
  • A search for “Shirts” could trigger the keywords “shirt”, “blouse”, and/or “sweater”
• Negative Match: This option prevents your ad from showing when a word or phrase you specify is searched for.
  • The negative keyword “green” would stop your ads from showing in a search for “Green shirts” even if “shirt” is one of your keywords
• Phrase Match: Your ad is shown for searches that match a phrase.
  • Having the phrase “Local shirt store” could trigger in searches for “nearby blouse shop” but not a search for just “shirts”
• Exact Match: Your ad is shown for searches that match the exact phrase exclusively.
  • Searches must exactly match your keyword in order for your ad to show. But Google is pretty smart and will generally allow misspellings to match (“gren shirt” would still trigger “green shirt”)

When using Google Ads, keywords are also used to determine the cost of your advertising. Each keyword you choose will have a cost-per-click (CPC) bid amount. These bids are based on the popularity of each keyword as well as how relevant your website is to people who search for that keyword (called quality score). Bids are mostly automated, but you can specify the maximum amount you’re willing to pay each time someone clicks your ad (the maximum cost-per-click). A higher CPC bid can allow your ad to show at a higher position on the page.

If all this sounds confusing, you need Treefrog. We not only understand Search Engine Marketing, we are constantly monitoring and adapting to the frequent changes that are made by search engines to improve their operation.