12 Search Engine Marketing Benefits (+ Expert Tips to Do It Right)

Search engine marketing benefits include increased visibility, attracting targeted traffic, and driving quick, measurable results. Here’s why (and how) to add SEM to your online marketing strategy.

Over 90% of online experiences begin with a search engine.

So it’s no wonder search engine marketing benefits big and small businesses alike by connecting them with their target audience.

Between the lasting impact of search engine optimization (SEO) and the instant effects of paid search ads, SEM is the key to increasing revenue.

In this guide, we’ll outline the top benefits of SEM, plus tips to get started from digital marketing expert Sarah McKraken.

What are the benefits of search engine marketing?

Search engine marketing offers increased brand visibility, allows you to accurately measure performance, and collect data on your target audience for improved marketing efforts altogether.

Let’s explore this and other advantages of SEM further.

1. Precise audience targeting
2. Performance tracking
3. Increased traffic
4. Brand awareness
5. Maximized ROI
6. Fast results
7. Cost effectiveness (and control)
8. Competitive opportunities
9. Local targeting
10. Long-term results
11. Mobile device targeting
12. Streamlined online shopping experience

1. Precise audience targeting

Whether targeting people by their geographic location, online shopping behavior, or demographics, search engine marketing allows advertisers to connect with a highly targeted audience.

This ensures your ads reach the right people at the right time (when they’re actively searching for what you offer).

2. Performance tracking

SEM campaigns offer access to valuable insights for more informed decisions down the road by providing real-time data on clicks, impressions, conversions, and ROI.

Advertisers can see which keywords, ads, and campaigns are driving results, and adjust the strategy based on what’s working, often guided by the algorithms that power real-time bidding and targeting.

This level of transparency helps you optimize continuously and maximize your return.

Identify the metrics that matter most to your business to make the most of your tracking and optimizations.

3. Increased traffic

Search engine marketing boosts traffic by putting your search ads at the top of the results page.

With effective copy, these ads lead to more clicks, which is why it’s so important to make sure your landing page and website meet the expectations of your audience.

Without a strong SEO and content marketing foundation, your cost per click (CPC) will overpower your conversion rate.

In other words, to maximize that influx of traffic, make sure your site is optimized to get people to stick around after they click.

4. Brand awareness

50% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands they recognize.

SEM campaigns can increase brand awareness, which results in more trust and a higher chance of conversions.

5. Maximized ROI

With search engine marketing, your ad spend goes toward high-intent users — people who are actively searching for the products or services you offer.

With the aid of real-time performance data, you can optimize bids, keywords, and ad copy to focus on what drives the best results.

This helps reduce wasted spend and boosts returns to make the most of your budget.

6. Fast results

Search engine marketing is one of the fastest ways to get your business in front of potential customers.

You can create an ad campaign and have it running in under an hour, depending on how much time you spend optimizing it.

This is great news if you’re launching a new product, service, or promotion and need to spread the word quickly.

Plus, your ad appears at the top of search results before the #1 position. This means you can beat competitors with content ranking at the top of Google search results.

7. Cost effectiveness (and control)

While some keywords you target will cost more than others, you’re in control of how much you spend at the end of the day (literally).

In a Google Ads account, you choose how much you want to spend per day, week, and month. If you ever want to halt a campaign, you can do so, preventing more money from being spent.

Also, with careful research, you can sometimes find hidden gems (keywords with high search intent and low competition).

These may have fewer people searching, but the odds of them converting are higher, making it worth the inclusion in your campaign.

8. Competitive opportunities

SEM campaigns allow brands to keep a competitive edge by appearing above organic search results for high-value, relevant keywords, even in crowded markets.

Outbid competitors, instantly respond to market changes, and launch targeted campaigns fast — just make sure to maintain a strong Quality Score so your efforts are more fruitful.

Additionally, targeting your competitor’s branded search terms can be a strategic way to capture their traffic and gain new customers.

Monday.com and Asana are known for doing this to one another, like in this example:

If you decide to do this, don’t be afraid to be cheeky or humorous to get a chuckle from searchers. Sometimes, this is enough to win them over.

For instance, Asana could say something like, “No one likes Mondays — switch to Asana.”

9. Local targeting

Local businesses can leverage local ads to target people by their location and even set up ads that appear when someone is near their shop.

For example, if you own a pet store, you can target people who search for “pet supplies near me” in your area, so your business has the chance to appear in the local pack, like this:

Appearing here makes your business noticeable and more likely to make it to the prospect’s destination list.

Follow these best practices for local SEO to boost your chances of getting more traffic.

10. Long-term results

One of the biggest search engine marketing benefits? With a comprehensive SEM strategy, you can get immediate and long-lasting results.

Pay-per-click (PPC) ads are an excellent starting point to increase brand awareness. Once you hit publish, your ads appear and can garner clicks in minutes.

Compare this to SEO marketing efforts, which can take upwards of six months to a year to see major traffic growth and high rankings.

Using a holistic approach gives you a chance to see immediate results while working toward long-term organic visibility and “free” traffic.

Invest in content up front, and the traffic continues as long as you keep the content fresh, relevant, high-value, and optimized.

11. Mobile device targeting

Mobile commerce (m-commerce) is the branch of ecommerce where customers purchase products and services using mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets.

In the United States alone, m-commerce sales exceeded $491 billion in 2023. And it’s expected to almost double by 2025.

Why does this matter? Because search engine marketing positions your business in front of these mobile users. When they go to Google, they’ll see your ads, content, and business listings.

You can even create ads tailored to their device and location, so you appear in their searches.

Plus, you can use remarketing campaigns to target shoppers who’ve already visited your website or app. This helps you stay top of mind and increases their chances of returning for more purchases.

12. Streamlined online shopping experience

Google Shopping is a great way to showcase your products and services to searchers looking for your items. It’s an online marketplace where people can browse and compare items from different retailers.

Here’s an example of how the search engine results pages (SERPs) can increase traffic to your product webpages:

These are product listing ads (PLAs), which allow shoppers to find items without leaving the search engine.

This gives you more visibility and attracts shoppers who are ready to buy.

Plus, you can use shopping ads to target shoppers with advertisements tailored to their interests.

Further reading: How to Set Up Shopping Campaigns in Google Ads

8 tips for building a successful SEM campaign

While there are many benefits of search engine marketing, creating a campaign requires a lot of research and ongoing experimentation to find what works.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when building your SEM campaigns.

1. Don’t rely solely on keyword research tools

SEO tools like Semrush and Ahrefs are great, but are only one piece of the puzzle.

Perform customer research to learn more about your target customer’s pain points and buying journey, so you can choose your words (and specific keywords) carefully.

2. Use a holistic SEM strategy

It’s tempting to rely on paid search to drive all your traffic, leads, and sales. But if you do so, you’re leaving money on the table by allowing competitors to dominate organic search.

Use all available (and relevant) SERP areas to grow your online presence, including local business listings, organic listings, and product listing ads. To take things a step further, incorporate social media marketing into your digital marketing strategy.

3. Test different ad formats

Try different ad formats to see which perform best for your business. For example, you can test text ads, as well as display ads, which include video and image ad formats.

4. Try different ad platforms

Google is an excellent platform for advertising to buyers, but don’t overlook others like Bing, Yahoo, YouTube, and Amazon.

5. Monitor your campaigns and experiment

Ongoing optimization is critical for PPC ads and SEO strategies. Monitor your campaigns and experiment with different keywords and approaches to see what works best.

For example, look at which keywords have a high click-through rate (CTR), but no conversions, then analyze whether it’s the wrong audience or offer/messaging.

6. Give your ad campaigns time

It takes time for campaigns to gather enough information to determine if they’re performing well or not and why.

You need at least 30 days to spot trends in your data to base your decisions upon.

7. Avoid targeting broad audiences

The narrower your audience, the easier it is to tailor messages to them so they’re more likely to click and convert. If you’re worried about leaving out potential buyers, use Performance Max (PMax) campaigns to test audiences across platforms.

It uses machine learning to identify the best-performing keywords, audiences, and platforms to maximize your results. Plus, it offers automated bidding to get the most bang for your ad spend.

8. Add negative keywords

Prevent your ads from appearing for irrelevant search queries that don’t lead to conversions. This will save you from spending on non-converting clicks.

What is search engine marketing?

Search engine marketing is a form of digital marketing that promotes websites by increasing their visibility on search engine results pages.

It includes running paid ads on search engines, optimizing your website for the right keywords, and publishing relevant content to drive traffic.

SEO vs. SEM: What’s the difference?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the digital marketing strategy of optimizing a website to rank organically on the first page of the SERP.

Search engine marketing (SEM) is an umbrella term that refers to promoting a website on the SERP, which can include SEO in addition to PPC advertising

According to McKraken, “SEO strategies are built to improve your website’s technical health and content strategy with the long-term goals to show up higher in search results, increase organic traffic, and provide a better user experience on the website.”

Emphasis on long-term because your SEO efforts can take a while to get you to the top of Google results, especially for competitive target keywords.

The takeaway

Search engine marketing benefits all who use it strategically; it’s a powerful tool for building your brand’s awareness, website traffic, and conversions. But it requires a holistic strategy to see ultimate results.

So as you’re building your campaign, consider including a mix of paid ads, content, and local SEO (based on your business’s needs and industry).

Not sure which platforms and techniques you should use? It may be time to partner with a marketing agency. Call in the Hawks, and we’ll help you soar to the top of the SERP.

This post has been updated and was originally published in February 2023.