What is an SEM Campaign? + How to Set One Up in 8 Easy Steps

An SEM campaign is a marketing strategy that helps you increase web traffic with paid ads. Learn how to set up an SEM campaign with this guide from our experts.

Looking for new ways to reach your audience online? An SEM campaign may be just the thing.

But if you want to be successful with search engine marketing, you need to know how to properly set up an SEM campaign and optimize for best results.

In this article, we’ll cover what an SEM campaign is and how to set up an SEM campaign while answering some frequently asked questions about search engine marketing.

What is an SEM campaign?

An SEM campaign is a targeted search engine marketing strategy that increases website visibility and traffic by placing paid advertisements on search engine results pages (SERPs).

The goal of an SEM campaign is to drive targeted traffic to a website, generate leads, and increase sales or conversions.

Running an SEM campaign involves researching relevant keywords, writing engaging ad copy, bidding on those keywords, and optimizing the ads for maximum engagement and conversion.

Sometimes, SEM refers to paid search or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising only. Other times, it’s an umbrella term for any form of digital marketing that increases website visibility (e.g., PPC and search engine optimization, or SEO).

After many years in the industry, we use SEM as a term that includes both SEO and PPC.

Below, we’ll focus on the basics of setting up a paid ad campaign on a search engine advertising program while giving some tried-and-true beginner tips along the way.

How to set up an SEM campaign

Let’s dive into how to set up an SEM campaign.

1. Pick a PPC network

So, you’re all ready to set up an SEM campaign.

First up? Review your search engine advertising network options. There are a handful out there, such as:

• Google Ads: Displayed across the Google network, including Google Search, the Google Display Network, and YouTube
• Microsoft Ads (Bing Ads): Displayed on Bing‘s search engine, display ads, ads on DuckDuckGo, and LinkedIn
• Yahoo Ads: Displayed on Yahoo, AOL, and TechCrunch

The way we see it, you have two options:

1. Start with Google. It’s the go-to search engine for 90% of the world’s population and offers some of the best targeting and testing options.
2. Or, if your audience primarily hangs out on a different search engine, start there first.

While some PPC platforms like Bing ads can give you access to a smaller, segmented group with higher income and less competition, Google Ads is the largest advertising platform in the world.

It also has better targeting and testing options than some of the other paid search platforms.

Since this is a beginner’s guide, we’ll keep things broad enough to apply to any ad network. Though we admittedly have a strong preference for Google Ads, the same core concepts will still apply to other ad platforms.

2. Conduct keyword research

Before Google’s newest campaign type, Performance Max (which uses automated ads that target users based on their interests, i.e., audience signals), Google Ad accounts relied almost entirely on keywords.

Advertisers use keywords to build strategies, organize ad groups, and target users by the search terms they use to find services or products. (More on this later!)

Now, not to be dramatic, but Google’s future is leaning more toward an automated, “smart” future. “Yikes!” exclaim advertisers everywhere who feel like more automation = less control.

But, for now, keywords are still the key to our autonomy. Keywords will always be wildly important to understanding our audiences. After all, we need keywords to craft content that is relevant to a user’s needs.

Now, let’s get into how to research keywords.

Google

There are many ways to conduct keyword research, starting with a good ol’ Google search.

First, put yourself in your target customer’s shoes: What terms would they use to find you?

Then, get to typing. Experiment with Google’s predictive search (the way Google auto-fills your search terms based on popularity or similarity).

And check out the “People also ask” section of the search engine results page (SERP) to narrow in on keyword variations and related terms:

From there, check up on competitor brands. See which ads they’re running and which products they focus on the most so you can learn from their decisions.

Pro tip: AnswerThePublic is a helpful tool for finding commonly searched-for questions your target market is asking online so you can optimize keywords with search intent in mind.

Keyword research tools

When you’ve exhausted your Google search, you can level up your keyword research game with keyword research tools like Ahrefs, Google Trends, or Semrush.

These SaaS tools are similar to search engines in that you enter specific keywords, and the tool returns related keywords based on search engine performance data, such as monthly search volume and ranking difficulty.

Need more help with researching keywords? Check out our keyword research guide to help get you started.

3. Optimize your landing pages

When a user clicks your ads, where will they end up?

The page they arrive at is called the landing page. When you set up an SEM campaign designed to convert, you need to create optimized, focused landing pages that match your ads.

Google (and other ad networks) judge the quality of your ads based on how fluid the transition is from your ads to your landing pages. 

Any disconnect or lack of continuity will cause problems for users, making your ads less practical and ineffective.

These disconnects can be as significant as a single-product ad taking a user to a generic ecommerce storefront. Or it can be as minor as your ad mentioning a 10% discount and your landing page mentioning a 15% discount.

It’s best to focus on making your landing pages clearly deliver your solution to users. That might mean convincing them to buy a product, sign up for a subscription, or otherwise convert them into leads or paying customers.

A lot goes into successful landing pages, so check out our Ultimate Guide to Landing Pages here for tips on optimizing yours.

4. Plan your campaign structure

When it’s time to create your PPC campaigns, it helps to understand how these accounts are structured.

To set up an SEM campaign, you’ll often follow roughly the same three-tiered housing system inside your account, no matter the platform:

• Campaigns: Your advertising “categories” will be divided into specific campaigns, like branded searches, summer sales, or returning customers.
• Ad groups: Within each campaign, ad groups act as subcategories, or segments, within that primary category. Ad groups are typically organized around specific keywords, offers, or products.
• Ads: Within each ad group, you’ll have the ads themselves. You’ll need multiple versions to test against one another within the same ad group so they share the same targeting and budget settings.

If your ads are extensive, your budget is robust, and your product library is sufficiently disparate, you might have one more level at the top.

You may have a Master Account and sub-accounts for different departments or types of products. For example, Nike might have an Athletic Wear segment, a “Shoes” segment, and so on.

It depends on how you want to organize it and connect it within your company.

5. Craft compelling ad copy

A large portion of your efforts in day-to-day SEM management will focus on writing and testing ad copy. Compelling ad copy is what makes advertisers stand out on the search engine results pages and entices people to click.

But, there are rules.

Ad copy must be accurate (no bait-and-switch offers) and free from spammy symbols and typos. It must also present a clear offer.

The quality and relevance of your copy significantly impact your ads’ performance and click-through rate (CTR), which is why testing ad variations is essential.

Your copy doesn’t need to be perfect the first time, but it needs to be in the right ballpark.

That means knowing who you’re reaching and what your potential customers are interested in so you know what points to mention for your most promising ads.

6. Set up conversion tracking and analytics

Without proper conversion tracking, your advertising platform cannot learn what’s working and what’s not.

In other words, your PPC advertising is only as good as the data you use to make decisions. Here’s a look at several different kinds of tracking you can set up, along with custom tracking for specific ad networks:

UTM tracking

UTM parameters are tacked onto the end of URLs like lampreys, tracking information about the specific iteration of a clicked link.

They are essential for monitoring things like multiple ads that all point to the same page so you can see which ads get the clicks and which users from which sources do the converting.

They can even be used to track multiple links from the same source to the same destination.

Automatic conversion tracking

Google Analytics performs extensive automatic tracking based on standardized formats and information, so it can track conversions from users who arrive at ads without any extra setup on your part.

Manual conversion tracking

By setting up advanced conversion tracking in Google Analytics, you can track events that aren’t standardized and assign specific values to them. You can also track phone calls or live chat metrics using the right tools.

The more information you have on hand, the better you can inform your decisions around optimizing your ads, refining your keyword lists, adjusting your landing pages, and more. Without conversion tracking, you’re running blind and have no idea which of your ads are responsible for your conversions.

Pro tip: ConversionIQ, HawkSEM’s proprietary marketing platform, tracks data from all of your marketing campaigns on one easy-to-navigate dashboard. It gives you insight into the complete buyer’s journey — from first click to purchase to where some users fall off — empowering you to make effective optimizations that directly impact your return on investment (ROI). 

7. Run split tests with ad variations

Split testing, also known as A/B testing, is a way to compare two or more variations on a single ad to see which one performs better. Split testing goes beyond just testing different ad copy.

You can use this testing to change and optimize everything from your specific keywords to your landing page, ad extensions, bidding strategy, display URL, and more.

Small changes can add up in a big way. The trick is to be intentional with your changes. Test only a single variable at a time, and make sure your budget, website traffic, and search volume are all sufficient enough to give you statistically significant samples.

You also want to give your ad variations enough time to collect data. Running those ads for a few days won’t give you the data you need to make an informed decision.

For more information, here’s a guide on setting up effective A/B testing and a list of real-life examples of A/B tests.

8. Review, audit, and iterate on your PPC campaigns

Between your analytics and your tests, you should have plenty of information to make optimization decisions.

You can see the Quality Score of your landing pages, your ad rank, the conversion rate of your search ads, the clicks on your call-to-action, your cost per click, your CPA (cost per action), and more.

Armed with that information, you can audit your SEM campaigns from top to bottom.

Remember when we said creating your ad copy would be the bulk of your work? This is why.

You’re always going to be testing, iterating, and optimizing your ads. You can never rest on your laurels and view your ads as “good enough.”

SEM campaign FAQs

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions we get from businesses about search engine marketing:

SEM vs SEO: What’s the difference?

The main difference between SEM and SEO is that one uses paid search strategies, and the other does not.

While both SEM and SEO help you gain visibility online, SEO focuses purely on organic (not paid) search engine strategies. On the other hand, SEM uses paid search strategies like pay-per-click (PPC) advertising in addition to organic tactics.

SEM improves your visibility in the paid search results, focuses on transactional searches, and targets users who are ready to convert. While SEO improves visibility in the organic search results, focuses on informational and transactional searches, and targets users across the marketing funnel.

Read our guide on SEM vs SEO marketing to learn more about the differences and when to use each.

What are the benefits of SEM?

The main benefit of SEM is that it boosts your visibility on the search engine results page, driving more traffic to your site. Due to the targeted nature of SEM strategies, the traffic your ads drive is likely to be made up of high-quality leads.

When you drive more traffic back to your site, you increase your chances of making additional sales and increasing revenue. SEM also drives brand awareness by putting your business in front of more people.

How much does an SEM campaign cost?

A single SEM campaign can cost thousands of dollars, depending on which strategies you use and whether or not you are paying someone to manage your PPC and SEO.

The average PPC management price is between $1,500 and $10,000 per month. The average SEO cost is $3,000 to $10,000 per month. The pricing for these services will vary depending on who you hire and their experience level as well as goals, competition, complexity, and timeline.

PPC: Is it right for your business?

Before you start setting up your SEM campaign, you’ll want to consider if PPC is the right move for your business.

Both PPC and SEO are powerful tools for any marketing strategy, but paid search ads are especially enticing because of their reputation for being effective and fast.

Once your PPC ads are live and optimized, you can see new visitors flow to your website that same week. And, unlike other marketing platforms, paid ads give you a ton of data along the way. This gives you more control to narrow in on your target audience.

So, what’s the catch? Well, there are a couple… (*cue sad trombone*)

First, not every business is ready to launch an SEM campaign. In fact, many aren’t. To yield successful results, you need the following:

1. Time & patience

Paid ads can bring about results fast, sure. But that’s relative to other marketing methods out there. While traffic can start flowing to your site immediately, that doesn’t mean it’s converting traffic (yet).

It takes weeks of collecting data and optimizing to see the real magic happen, but that also requires an upfront investment in time and money.

2. Financial budget

As we just mentioned, PPC requires an upfront investment as your campaign settles in. Beyond this investment period, businesses should be prepared to dedicate enough monthly spending to see results.

Because ultimately, if your ad spend isn’t competitive, PPC won’t work.

3. Willingness to scale

Believe it or not, PPC can be so effective in bringing in a ton of leads and customers that unprepared businesses may not be able to keep up.

To combat this, make sure your business model is scalable. Ask yourself these questions:

• Is your team prepared for an increase in sales?
• Do you have enough inventory to accommodate more sales?
• Can your team handle increased customer service inquiries?

Be prepared for whatever your business needs to scale in a hypothetical mega-success story.

4. A high-quality website

Your website needs to be fast, informative, and easy to navigate across devices. This is where an SEO strategy and PPC overlap so powerfully.

Google prioritizes high-value content from high-quality websites for organic search results and PPC ad placements. In other words, a well-executed ad campaign is useless without a website that’s optimized for search, loads quickly, is mobile-friendly, and offers an effective user experience.

5. Business goals on lock

Before getting started with an SEM strategy, you need to be clear on (ie. articulate and document) your business goals.

What do you need to be profitable? How many leads? What are your close rates?

I know you probably have these little details memorized by now, but these numbers will dictate your SEM strategy and goals.

Write them down and keep them handy for your SEM campaign buildout.

…One last catch?

PPC success involves hard (consistent) work

PPC optimization—things like creating ads and variations, tracking conversions, optimizing your landing pages, and setting negative keywords so you aren’t paying for low-value visitors—not only takes time but also requires constant tweaking.

Not to mention, you could be losing money on your campaigns if you are not up-to-date on the latest PPC strategies and tactics. And keeping up with search engine marketing best practices can sometimes seem like a whole other job in itself.

That’s where hiring a PPC agency comes in.

When you hire a team of experts who know exactly what to do to take your SEM campaigns to the next level, you don’t have to worry about making tweaks or spending time learning the latest strategies.

Let us handle the PPC management while you focus on what you’re best at.

The takeaway

Now that you know what it takes to set up an SEM campaign, it’s time to try it for yourself.

Truthfully, it takes a whole lot of time and resources to see big returns on PPC campaigns you run on your own if you’re not experienced. That’s why most agree that paid search should be left to the experts.

Whether you work with a digital marketing agency for SEM services, hire support in-house, or contract with a PPC consultant, knowing the basics of SEM makes it easier for you to find a qualified team player.

And if you’re looking for an SEM agency in the top 3% of the country, book a call with us today.

This article has been updated and was originally published in November 2022.