search engine marketing (sem)

Search Engine Marketing is the process of increasing your website's traffic through paid listings on search engines. Nearly all search engines including Google, Bing and Yahoo offer a paid option. There are some nuances between systems but they all follow the same basic principles.

Paid listings operate as a 24/7 online auction and works using Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. In simple terms, a million people can type in a keyword that makes your advertisement appear. This is known as an impression and it does not cost you a cent. However, for each of the people who click on your advertisement, you are obligated to the pay the search engine a fee. The fee itself varies depending on which keyword or phrase you are bidding on and how fierce the competition is. The more people who want the word, the more expensive it is.

At this point, a number of questions come to mind:

Can I place limits on how much money I want to spend? Yes. You can have multiple campaigns running each with their own daily limit and we can control the maximum amount you are prepared to spend per click for each keyword appearing in a campaign.

Can I use pay per click advertising to promote my business only to people in my country (or state/region)? Yes. However this is generally based on the location of the person's ISP so some anomalies should be expected.

Can I choose to show my ads only at certain times in a day? Yes. Another option is also to control your bidding based on time of day. For example, a plumber may spend more per click at night where there are higher call out fees.

Are there reports for me to see how much I have spent and if I am getting clicks? Yes. These reports are available real-time online and Global IT prepares a concise report monthly for our clients giving the 'highlights'.

What happens if my competitor spends all day clicking on my pay per click advertisement - do I still have to pay? No. Search engines have sophisticated fraud protection algorithms that protect you from this sort of attack.

How does payment work? Do I get an invoice? Do I need to pay in advance? You are required to lodge your credit card with the search engine. Your card will be charged weekly based on clicks received from the previous week. You can also download a receipt whenever required. This makes it essential that limits are put in place and that the account is monitored often.

There are many more questions but if we ask and answer them all now, this page would be too long and you may not need us :)

One more very important fact is that your goals and the goals of the search engine are not the same. The search engine makes money by delivering you as many clicks as possible. You make money from sales (not clicks). Global IT is 100% focused on getting our clients a good Return On Investment (ROI). We set up a tracking points throughout your website known as goals and place a real value on each goal. These can be completed online enquiries or a completed sale etc. Our job is then clear - spend less money on pay per click advertising than what our clients earn from it and ensure you get a positive ROI. This does not always happen immediately and some clients focus on brand awareness which uses a different metric but the idea is still the same - Help our clients achieve their marketing goals.