ClickCease End-to-End SEM Services Australia | Brafton
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SEM Agency

Organic content reigns in the age of non-interruptive marketing – but search engine marketing still has a seat at the table.

Our SEM experts know how to use paid search as a strategic supplement to your content marketing campaigns.

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What Do SEM Agencies Do?

A search engine marketing agency delivers qualified website traffic through search engines, primarily Google search. An SEM service provider typically manages the Google Ads campaign, from the original research identifying relevant keywords to the reporting of paid ad metrics.

Search engine marketing is a form of paid search advertising that promotes your content at the very top of search engine results pages (SERPs). The publisher of the ad pays a fee every time a user clicks on the paid search result, which means SEM is a type of pay-per-click (PPC), or cost-per-click (CPC) advertising.

How Does SEM Work?

Search engine marketing involves a bidding process, whereby publishers compete to appear in search engine results pages (SERPs), most often using Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords).

PPC SEM

For Google’s Search Network, ad publishers bid for space based on the maximum amount they’re willing to pay per click and the quality of the ad.

The search engine determines which Google ad to display through the following process:

  1. It multiplies the maximum bid by a Quality Score. The Quality Score is based on the page’s relevance to the keywords used in the search query, the CTR of the page, past ad performance on that page and overall performance of the page.
  2. The resulting score is the Ad Rank. Only pages that meet the Ad Rank Threshold are considered for display in a search query.
  3. Finally, Google decides the order of the ads to post based on Ad Rank. The ad with the highest ranking takes the No. 1 spot.

With Quality Score as a factor, the highest bidder is not necessarily the winner. This underscores the need to prioritise keyword research, landing page optimisation and user experience. Quality content creation, an expert understanding of your target audience and an experienced SEM agency partner can ensure your ad spend is generating ROI.

Local Service Ads

Service-based businesses that sign up for Local Service Ads determine a weekly budget for their ads in advance.

Unlike PPC marketing services, publishers pay per lead, which is a phone call or message. Cost per lead varies based on the type of job and the local market. There is no bidding process. Instead, Google automatically determines which ads to post based on the following factors:

  • Proximity to the searcher’s location.
  • Business hours.
  • Number of reviews and the score of those reviews.
  • Responsiveness to customer enquiries and requests.
  • Any complaints about the business.

How SEM Works at Brafton

When you work with Brafton, you’ll work with a dedicated account manager, project manager and PPC advertising team that understands the most important nuances of a successful SEM campaign.

Before we launch your first paid media campaign with us, we’ll become intimately familiar with your industry, brand, products or services, mission and values, current marketing strategies, and marketing and commercial goals.

With all this in mind, we’ll be able to craft a custom SEM strategy that will help increase brand awareness, drive traffic, generate leads and produce tangible results for your organisation.

Your SEM specialist will create your paid ads and track their performance throughout the campaign. Monthly reports will show you exactly what’s working and how well. We’ll use this information to continuously improve your digital strategy for long-term success.

Why SEM?

Digital marketing has largely pivoted away from paid advertising in the past decade, as evidenced through the meteoric rise of content marketing.

Nevertheless, SEM and other forms of click advertising still have substantial strategic value when used prudently as part of a larger marketing strategy. Some of the reasons why you should use SEM in your digital marketing efforts include:

Better CTR

Paid SEM services are several times more likely to move the needle for your business than other forms of digital advertising. With stronger click-through rates, you can plan for predictable ROI.

Potential for Quick Results

Making your way to Page 1 of search results in Google, Bing and other search engines through organic content marketing takes time and effort – up to 100 days in many cases.

As you build out your organic content and optimise your existing webpages to perform better on search, SEM can help provide some relief in the way of generating traffic. Search engine marketing is not a substitute for an organic strategy; however, it can be useful for supporting the early phases of your content marketing efforts.

Brand Awareness

Paid search results are often the first listings users see as they scroll through Page 1 of SERPs. This exposure can help build brand awareness more quickly and for an agreed-upon, measurable cost.

Shortcuts to Product Pages

Major search engines like Google and Bing provide PPC shopping ads that list toward the top of a SERP.

For B2B and B2C brands that sell products and services directly through their site or through other online marketing places, paid shopping ads basically provide a shortcut to the online point of sale.

Promotion for Local Services

More than 40% of all searches have local intent. For local services such as plumbing, landscaping and event planning, listing near the top of results could make the difference between business going to them or to a competitor.

Google offers Local Service Ads that local-services businesses can use to rank higher in search results. Unlike paid search, publishers pay for lead generation, not for clicks. Leads count as phone calls, messages or bookings made through the ad.

The main difference between
search engine optimisation
(SEO) and SEM is that the
former is unpaid.
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SEO vs. SEM

The main difference between search engine optimisation (SEO) and SEM is that the former is unpaid.

Search engine optimisation relies on organic, unpaid content to improve site visibility. This might include on-page optimisation with technical SEO and website copy optimised to rank for specific keywords. It could also rely on off-page optimisation through social media marketing, email marketing, backlink strategies and other off-site tactics.

Without strong SEO, SEM can end up costing more money. This is because of the important role that Quality Score plays in determining CPC.

Optimising your website or landing page to rank for certain keywords is therefore important for tempering the cost of PPC strategies.

Why Brafton for SEM?

As a full-service digital marketing agency, Brafton can take the reins on your SEM campaign management. Our PPC strategists can help you through every phase of the SEM process.

  • Setting goals for what you want to achieve through your paid campaign.
  • Strategising how to best use that spend.
  • Setting up SEM campaigns.
  • Making recommendations for how to lower CPC while improving impressions; for instance, by optimising your ad’s landing page and improving your local SEO.
  • Crafting short-form ad copy that can improve CTR.
  • Measuring KPIs such as impressions, CTR, bounce rate, conversions and other metrics.
  • Adjusting the strategy based on findings.

We’ll make sure you get what you pay for, and then some.

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