New Updates to Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
New Updates to Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Greg Walthour, Co-CEO • Intero Digital • March 30, 2018
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a fast-paced industry because search engines are always trying to bring new technology to bear for their advertisers. They want you to be able to reach the right potential clients, and the large consumer behavior datasets they collect are helping them rise to this challenge. Here are just some of the new SEM updates and announcements in digital marketing.
Cross-Device Attribution in Reports
One of the most interesting reports you can generate for your advertising analytics is the path to conversion: which ads, when were they seen, and where were they viewing them (tablet, laptop, desktop, cell phone). Now, you can “follow” signed-in users across devices and learn, for instance, if they viewed your ad and clicked on it on a phone but then actually purchased your product later on a desktop computer. These reports give you smart information about conversions that may have been happening all along but were harder to track before the recent era of cross-device connection.
Smart Campaigns Take Guesswork Out for New Advertisers
With machine learning taking the forefront, Google’s Smart Campaigns have become a powerful automated solution for finding an audience for your PPC ads. New advertisers would be wise to try out smart campaigns for themselves before they take various features “manual,” choosing their own audiences and keywords more intensively. Smart campaign suggests many of the choices that in the past were made by SEM experts; once you get your baseline data from a Smart campaign, an SEM expert can help you maximize value by making small adjustments to the algorithm-based smart campaign.
Rising CPC; Increased Benefit for Local and Specialized Keywords
The most popular and highest value keywords will continue to grow in value; this means that every time your CPC ad pops up and is clicked, you’ll be charged a higher price than ever before. This is good for the industry, but it means that there is more incentive than ever to take advantage of any locality-based keywords or specialization keywords that you can access. If you can narrow down to a less-frequented keyword, but know that every single one of those searchers is looking for your product, you pay less per click and avoid paying for web traffic that will not ultimately convert.
Revamped Test My Site Tool Easily Evaluates Mobile Loading Speed
While most people have already worked to optimize their page loading speed on a traditional laptop/desktop browser, many people are still running a very slow mobile site. If you receive a decent amount of PPC clicks on phones, you are missing out on conversions if your loading speed is slow. Using Google’s Test My Site tool, you can make sure your mobile page constantly loads quickly, and if not, you can work to get that speed up so that viewers quickly get to the heart of your business.
Contact Intero Digital Today!
The Importance of SEM Updates in Digital Marketing
Staying on the cutting edge of search engine marketing is essential because updates to the search engines are both out of control and designed to make you able to get more out of them. After all, it is in Google’s best interest to get you to focus on their product and use it to the best of your ability! The PPC advertising platform may have been around for many years now, but it changes constantly. What was an advantageous strategy a few years ago is probably in need of updates now; you can become a more lean and more effective advertiser by keeping your finger on the pulse.
If you’re ready to take advantage of these SEM updates, work with digital marketing professionals who are tracking every change in SEM, and use these changes for the growth potential of your online presence, contact an SEM trend expert at Intero Digital today.
