A Deeper Dive Into Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Have you read the Search Engine Marketing (SEM) 101 article and still want to know more? Well, no worries, RV Trader is here to help. Since you’ve gotten the SEM basics down, we thought we’d dive a little deeper and give you more insight into how the search engines work and how ad placement is decided. We’ll also explore a few other campaign types and opportunities that you may be eager to take advantage of.

Remember the PPC or Pay-Per-Click campaigns? They allow advertisers to create and manage the text ads that show up at the top and bottom of the Google search results pages. Here’s an example. Say I’m looking for a new vehicle and have decided that I’d like to test drive a SUV; I will likely search something like “new SUV for sale near me”. There are multiple ads that show up for that query, so how is the placement determined if many businesses would like to show up for that search?

 Google treats this situation like an auction – each advertiser sets a bid amount on that keyword. The highest bidder definitely gets a boost, but there is another part to this equation, the quality score. Having a good quality campaign and a great website that delivers the expected experience to the searcher makes a difference.

What other things go into creating a good quality PPC campaign? Ad extensions, for one. In our car shopping example, you might notice that some of the ads include locations with map links, model lists, other clickable links, etc. Ad extensions beef up the core content of the PPC ads and allow advertisers to share more information about their businesses that will benefit searchers.

We’ve covered the Pay-Per-Click campaigns, but what else can we do to improve our online presence? Google offers a variety of other campaigns designed to promote businesses via ads in Gmail and YouTube. For instance, once you’ve logged in to check your email, Gmail ads display on the Promotions tab. A Gmail ad opens like an e-mail message and allows the user to click over to the business’ website. 

Also - YouTube ads traditionally play prior to viewing your selected video and were previously referred to as “pre-roll” ads. Google now offers multiple other ways to promote your videos including ads within the YouTube search results or alongside related videos.  And there are various other opportunities to reach potential buyers through ads on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, but we’ll be exploring those in a separate article coming next month.

The world wide web is wide indeed, but that’s why we’re here to help you! As new advertising methods pop up, the RV Trader search team investigates it all. We’re asking all of the right questions - what are your customers searching for and what information can we present in our ads that will pique their interest? This is where our expertise in optimizing PPC campaigns comes in. Plus, our website is designed to offer a great experience to anyone who clicks on one of our search ads. We’re always looking for new ways to grow our audience as well, which means testing different ad platforms and types that appeal to an RV buyer at all points on their path to purchase, even when they are performing day-to-day online activities like checking social media or watching videos on YouTube. All of this to get more eyes on your listings and connect you with an eager RV buyer!