To successfully promote your site, you need to master the techniques contained in Search Engine Marketing (SEM). It is a combination of paid and organic website promotion methods.
Today, it is difficult to imagine the Internet without a search engine. As the number of sites grew exponentially, it quickly became clear that there must be a way to get the content you want. Given that the competition is huge, it was necessary to somehow rank all these sites so that the better ones would be more visible. It is for this reason that digital marketing is becoming an inevitable part of internet business.
At the same time, the idea arose that such a search engine could make great money by offering shortcuts to the very top. In other words, whoever wanted could pay to have a link to his site at the very top of the search. It is still the basic business model of search engines today, with everything being raised to a much higher and more sophisticated level.
Nowadays, when every company must have a well-ranked site, it takes a lot of effort to get to the very top of searches. Search Engine Marketing deals with this topic. SEM uses combined paid and organic methods to achieve a goal.
Search Engine Marketing was initially a combination of PPC and SEO methods. However, with the development of internet advertising, the focus has shifted to PPC and other methods of paid advertising. In practice, Search Engine Marketing is a Search Marketing. Practically taking over its meaning. While Search Engine Marketing is connecting only to paid promotion methods.
Of course, a quality optimized site is still necessary for top results. Accordingly, to successfully deal with SEM you need to have knowledge in both areas.
Top of Google search, how do I get there?
When we talk about the importance of optimizing a site for high search engine rankings, we primarily mean Google. Although there are other search engines (Yahoo, Bing, Yandex…), you can not compare them to this giant. For this reason, ranking within this search engine is an absolute priority.
The first and basic step is certainly SEO optimization, ie. all the work on the site in order for it to be better positioned in the organic search results. There are several ways to approach optimization, and it mostly depends on you and the goal you have set. Namely, the methods are primarily divided into those where SEO is performed in accordance with the set rules, those where the system is cheated, and there is a “gray zone”.
White hat SEO
When we respect all the rules and principles prescribed by Google when working on the site, then we are talking about the white hat SEO approach. This is the best and long-term most cost-effective way to optimize your site. With the right use of keywords, logical linking of pages and quality content, the results will always be visible.
Many experts will say that white hat SEO is not only the best approach but also the only correct one. Other methods carry a number of risks and do more harm than good in the long run. However, for some reason, many are still trying to achieve results, risking serious penalties.
Black hat SEO
In westerns the bad guys always are wearing black hats, which is a great parallel to black hat SEO methods. This dark side of optimization implies abuse of the system and violation of the set rules. This way, Google is misleading that the site is better than it is. Black hat SEO is used primarily to get results quickly. It should be borne in mind that these are methods that do not give long-term results, because they contradict the set principles.
It is clear that such optimization is unethical, and that such sites are of poor quality at first glance. Google generally quickly realizes that someone is trying to trick them. This is the reason for penalties such as lower rankings, but also complete exclusion from searches. In that case, the site practically becomes invisible, and thus doomed.
Gray hat SEO
Unlike the black and white image given by the previous methods, gray hat SEO represents tactics on the verge of legal. This means that certain activities are not explicitly prohibited, but their use can cause sanctions. That is why this “gray zone” is a risky territory, which some SEO experts are entering.
This is primarily about whether you are willing to take risks and try some methods that are not (yet) banned. Gray hat is certainly less problematic optimization than black hat technique and can bring success, but also big problems.
How to properly optimize a site using SEO?
There are three types of search engine optimization: technical SEO, on-page SEO and off-page SEO. These processes include all the activities necessary to make the site as high quality as possible in order to rank better on Google.
Technical SEO
The focus of this type of optimization is on the quality of the site design in order to provide the best possible user experience. But, also to be easier to search by Google. Sites that have certain technical characteristics will potentially rank better. That makes technical SEO a very important segment.
One of these features is SSL (Secure Socket Layler), which is encryption between the server and the Internet browser. Sites with this encryption have a URL that starts with https: //. Google prefers sites with SSL, which is a strong recommendation for everyone.
In addition, it is very important that the design of the site is responsive. This primarily means that it must be mobile-friendly, ie. that it can be easily used on smaller screens without losing response and display quality.
The speed of the site is extremely important for searches. That means that photos should be as small as possible, but also that all other elements of the site have quick loading times. This requires good hosting for the site. In addition, it is important to correct pages with duplicate content, because they confuse both users and search engines.
This is, of course, only a part of the things for successfully implementation of technical SEO. For more information on these and many other techniques, as well as for training, the ideal place is the Search engine optimization course.
On-page SEO
As we mentioned, this is a category that deals with improving the site itself. There are a number of methods and rules that you need to follow, so you can say that you have successfully done your job of optimizing the site. When optimizing pages, it is important to have quality content and use keywords in the right way.
There are a number of advanced techniques that require advanced knowledge of site optimization. However, for a start, it is a good decision to follow the basic on-page SEO rules.
Basic on-page SEO rules
- Title – One of the most important on-page elements. It represents the title of the page, so it is necessary that there is a keyword. For example: Best Search Engine Marketing for Beginners, where the keyword is Search Engine Marketing;
- Meta Description – A description of the page seen in searches;
- URL Structure – Represents the page address with a recommendation that it contains a keyword;
- Intermediate titles in the text – Intertitle is an additional place where you need to insert a keyword. But also related words that further explain what the page is about.
- Content optimization – Content is one of the basic items. It is the most important thing without which it is pointless to talk about site optimization. That is why it is important to write a quality text and present it in the right way to make it easier to read, but also to search. It is desirable to divide the text into smaller paragraphs, add subheadings and pay attention to keyword density;
- Photo optimization – Uploading photos does not only enrich the page visually. By inserting a description (alt text), title and the correct name of the photo, additionally help the page to rank better;
- Linking – Linking pages on a site is internal linking, and it serves to direct readers to related content. This is also very important because it shows the search engine that the site is well and logically connected. External linking is important.
- Optimization for mobile devices – An increasing percentage of users use primarily the phone to cruise the Internet. It is necessary that the site is optimized for small screens. This means that the site should be clear, easy to use, but also to load quickly on phones and tablets.
Off-page SEO
After you have performed the technical optimization of the site in the right way and set up quality content, off-page SEO enters the scene. These are activities that are performing outside the site itself and are related to its promotion. It is very important that the site is relevant, and this is achieved by having a large number of links to other quality and relevant sites that lead to it.
We should also mention link building, an activity that is the basis of off-page SEO and which deals with creating links. The best kind are natural links, which are created when someone on their site shares a link to your page without you even knowing it. In other words, someone liked what they saw with you and decided to share it with others.
There are also ways where you can get links by paying or posting on forums, in comments on other people’s texts and the like. However, Google does not look favorably on such tactics.
Search Engine Marketing and Paid Advertising
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) involves first and foremost creating paid search campaigns. These are ads that are paid for by the number of user clicks, the number of views (usually video ads), acquisitions, etc… The method of payment depends on the type of ad, but also the goal you want to achieve.
This way, the site can be quickly ranked at the very top of searches for relevant words. In combination with SEO work, such advertising can pay off many times over.
Regardless of the method of payment, the purpose of the campaign is to attract visitors to your site. Those who click on the ad are generally interested in what you offer, which means that visitors will come to your site ready to present their offer. In that case, the quality of the landing page, the products you offer and the overall presentation depends on how many of them you will convince to do what you want.
This can be buying products, subscribing to a mailing list, downloading demo programs… However, if visitors leave disappointed, PPC marketing and any other form of paid advertising can be very expensive.
Internet advertising platforms
To successfully set up online marketing campaigns, you need to be successful in advertising platforms. There are several platforms, but Google and Facebook are absolutely dominant in the market. Although for certain businesses and locations, other platforms offer great solutions.
Advertising platforms
Google Ads – If you want to advertise successfully on the Internet, Google is a priority due to the dominant position of its search engine. Google search releases billions of search results every day. It is clear that this is the first place to start advertising. However, it should be borne in mind that great popularity brings with it more competition. Especially when it comes to advertising for the most popular keywords.
Facebook Ads – We all know that Google is the largest search engine. Facebook is the largest social network in the world. As the company of the same name also holds Instagram, the number of users who can see the ad is in the millions. No one has so much personal information about their users. You can choose to show your ad based on: location, age, interests, gender and many more options.
Microsoft Ads – It is an online advertising platform that primarily covers Bing and Yahoo search engines. To be more competitive, they teamed up to create campaigns for both search engines.
Although you can’t compare them with Google in terms of numbers, these search engines have their trump cards. On the one hand, Bing is popular in America, and there is a difference in prices, as well as less competition for certain keywords. If your business is focusing on users who use these search engines in large numbers, then advertising with them is a smart decision.
AdRoll – It is a platform for retargeting people with banners to further present the content they are interested in. Although this option exists within Google AdWords, AdRoll has a large number of sites where you can advertise. There is also a display within Google as well as on social networks.
SEM – Great internet marketing option
SEM as a set of techniques for ranking and promoting sites, products and services is a powerful weapon in the hands of anyone who develops an online business. Make a combination of organic site growth and well-targeted advertising campaigns. It provides the best option for long-term ranking.
In this way, you will be at the very top of the search, which affects a stable business with a large return on investment. Therefore, we are recommending you to pay equal attention to both elements of Search Engine Marketing and you will not miss the success .