The SEA (which stands for Search Engine Advertising according to Abbreviationfinder) together with SEO , the two main areas of search engine marketing (SEM). SEA, which is also called keyword advertising, is about placing paid advertisements in search engines such as Google, Bing and Co.
Place ads in search engines
Both Google and Bing, Yahoo! and Co. you pay per click on your own ad. In general, every ad is optimized for a keyword (search term of a user). This can consist of one or a sequence of words. For example “buy leather shoes”. There is a minimum bid for each keyword. This can range from a few cents to several francs for highly competitive, lucrative keywords. The automated auction model from Google, for example, bids independently on the desired keywords until the previously set daily budget has been reached.
However, the highest bidder is not automatically displayed in the first place in the search results, because in addition to the click price, the quality of the website itself and the design of the ad also play a role.
If the ad does not play, the budget should be increased and the ad optimized. Perhaps the title is not clickable enough or the ad does not match the content of the website. As a rule of thumb, when a visitor clicks on an ad, the website behind it should exactly meet their expectations.
What payment models are there for SEA ads?
Classically, the CPC model (cost-per-click) is used when displaying advertisements in search engines. The advertising account is charged every time a visitor clicks on the ad in the search results. There is also CPA (cost-per-action). The price per action that the visitor performs on the website applies here : for example, subscribing to a newsletter or making a purchase. CPM (Cost-per-Mille) stands for the price per 1,000 impressions of the ad, for example in the Google Display Network. It is irrelevant whether this was also clicked on or not.
CPM campaigns are therefore particularly suitable for increasing brand awareness and keeping customers in mind. CPC and CPA, on the other hand, are designed for traffic and conversions.
All SEA advertising measures are about achieving a good ROAS (return of advertising spend). For this, the profit should of course be higher than the advertising expenditure. The ROAS is a value to measure the efficiency of an advertisement and can be represented with the following formula:
( Revenue – Business Expenses) / Ad spend x 100
The higher the ROAS, the better the profit.
How do ads differ from natural search results?
In contrast to natural search results, advertisements are marked with ‘Advertisement’ and positioned more prominently. With Google, ads are listed directly above the normal search results, as well as below and occasionally on the right-hand side of the desktop view.
What are the advantages of SEA?
In contrast to SEO , success through SEA can be felt directly. While well-done SEO is only reflected in search results and sales after a few months or even longer , a well-optimized advertisement appears immediately and attracts potential customers. SEA is therefore suitable for giving a company a start boost or for increasing brand awareness and sales of long-established companies.
Effects of SEA on SEO
SEA and SEO should be seen as two parts of a marketing strategy. While the website itself is optimized through SEO (loading times, user friendliness, qualitative content), SEA can help make the website known in the early stages. In any case, you should start with SEO, because well-made SEA ads can bring a lot of visitors to the website, but if information is missing and the content is unsuitable, they would leave the page immediately.
Which search engine should you invest in for SEA?
Google, with a market share of 95%, is perfectly adequate as a platform. If you want to fully develop the market , you can still place ads on Microsoft’s Bing (2.4%) or Yahoo! (1.8%) switch.
Google Ads (formerly AdWords ) is a powerful tool in the area of SEA , but very complex for beginners and associated with the risk of high expenses. In order not to waste money with SEA , it is worth hiring an experienced SEA agency. You can find relevant agencies in your area in our service provider directory.
