Search Engine Marketing: Why Do You Need Paid Search?

If you’re running a business, it’s important to make sure that you’re doing everything you can to get the word out. One of the best ways to do this is through search engine marketing (SEM). A big part of SEM involves using paid methods to promote your website through search engines. Today, we’ll discuss some of the reasons why you should consider using paid search as part of your SEM strategy.

What is Search Advertising?

When it comes to SEO in West Palm Beach, we often talk about organic search or unpaid search. This is the process of optimizing your website and content to rank highly in search engine results pages (SERPs) without paying for placement. However, there is another side to SEM: advertising in search engines.

With paid search advertising, also sometimes called pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, you can essentially buy your way to the top of SERPs. Advertisers bid on keywords that they want their ads to appear for when users search for those terms. The amount you bid, as well as several other factors, determines your ad’s position on the page.

Benefits of Paid Search

So, why would you want to pay for search engine placement when you can earn it organically? There are several reasons:

  • Paid search is immediate. When you launch a paid search campaign, your ads can start appearing on SERPs right away. Organic search can take months to start bearing fruit.
  • Paid search is flexible. With paid search, you have a lot of control over when and where your ads appear; you can also change your keywords and bid amounts at any time to fine-tune your campaign.
  • Paid search allows you to generate a buzz around new products and promotions. Have a new product or service to promote? Paid search can help you get the word out quickly and efficiently.
  • Paid search is targeted. Furthermore, you can target your ads to appear only to those consumers who are most likely to be interested in what you have to offer.

In truth, this just scratches the surface of why you should invest in paid search.

Organic Search vs Paid Search

While we’re posing this as a battle between the two, there doesn’t need to be a winner. Organic and paid search can complement each other very well; for example, if you’re ranking organically for a certain keyword, you may still want to invest in a paid ad campaign for that keyword as well.

The main thing to remember is that each has its own distinct advantages, so it’s important to use both as part of your overall search engine marketing strategy. Paid search is a great way to get your brand and your products in front of potential customers who are actively searching for what you have to offer.

Organic search, on the other hand, is an effective way to build long-term visibility and credibility for your brand. It can take some time to build up your organic search rankings, but once you do, you’ll reap the benefits for a long time.

With both in your strategy, you’ll be sure to reach the widest audience possible and maximize your chances of success. While you should never rely on paid search alone to generate leads, it can be a great supplement to your organic search efforts.

What’s more, paid search allows businesses to test keywords and product names before committing to them in their organic search campaigns. By running a few paid search ads, you can quickly gauge interest and see what terms are most likely to convert.