Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a digital marketing strategy that involves promoting businesses online via increased visibility in search engine results pages through paid advertising and optimisation techniques. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is a paid digital marketing strategy where brands bid on specific keywords or phrases related to their products and services. When users search for those keywords on search engines like Google or Bing, the advertiser’s ads may appear at the top of the search results. A fee is paid each time a user clicks on an ad, hence the term ‘pay-per-click.’

SEM can be an extremely effective way to drive traffic, generate leads, and increase conversions for a business online. It allows brands to reach a highly targeted audience based on their search intent, and it provides measurable results that can be continually analysed and optimised to improve campaign performance. Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising are the two most popular platforms.

With in-house capabilities led by a highly experienced digital strategist, the Freshlime digital team can assist any business with their on-going SEM requirements. We conduct a formal briefing process which is designed to best determine products and services, the competitor landscape, key marketing challenges, business goals, target audiences, desired landing pages, budgets, and any other relevant planning criteria. The agency also subscribes to the very best research tools which are used to see the latest insights, trends, and data to help us make well thought out, strategic decisions.

To start the process Freshlime would typically conduct a thorough audit to review the current paid ads landscape in the client’s industry category to identify key competitors, bid strategies, audience targeting and conversion metrics. Search insights are used to generate keyword ideas, search volumes and forecasted projections. Once completed, Freshlime assess different PPC platforms based on strengths, weaknesses, and search volumes to recommend the best strategy to reach the right audiences designed to produce the best quality traffic.

Yes. The goal is to populate an SEM campaign architecture including brand, competitor, ad groups and specific promotional requirements. Once expanded text ads and responsive search ads are finalised, our bid strategy commences to maximise clicks before typically shifting the focus towards driving conversions. Ad extensions and negative keyword lists are also given consideration as part of a campaign strategy and set-up.

For all SEM activity, Freshlime builds real-time customised campaign dashboards to monitor pacing, performance and identify insights for improved optimisation opportunities. The agency has a dedicated digital performance specialist who manages the full process including optimisations, benchmarking, bid adjustments, keyword & ad copy management, and platform maintenance on a day-to-day basis.