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Search Engine Advertising (SEA): What It Is, How It Works

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Search Engine Advertising (SEA): What It Is, How It Works


Search Engine Advertising (SEA): What It Is, How It Works

Search Engine Advertising (SEA) is a branch of Search Engine Marketing (SEM). While Search Engine Optimization (SEO) focuses on improving accessibility with the use of keywords, SEA places the paid ad directly in search engine results and on partner websites.

The term “search engine advertising” is often used as a synonym for keyword advertising, which also gave rise to the term PPC (pay per click), referring to the payment method used by advertisers. Google’s dominance in the market has led to its advertising platform, Google Ads, becoming another term for search engine advertising. Despite its various forms, the concept is always the same: place the ad above, below, or next to the search results.


However, placing ads in search results is not unique to Google; Bing and Yahoo also offer such services. Because advertisers pay for their position in organic search results, this form of marketing is a significant source of revenue for search engines .


How does Search Engine Advertising work?


The principle of search engine advertising is quite simple. The first step in promoting a business with Google, Bing or Yahoo is to define the keywords that are relevant to that respective business . It is then essential to identify the key search terms that are used to find similar websites and offers. Once you have this set of keywords , you can start creating a draft text for your ad.


You then need to determine how much you are willing to pay for a user to click on your ad. Your ad’s position in the results can also put you ahead of your competitors , however this is just one of the many factors that make up a successful SEA campaign. With much to consider during the advertising process, a SEA specialist will invest a lot of time in each phase of developing, executing and maintaining online marketing campaigns.


In the early stages, it is important to consider budgets and regional restrictions. The landing pages that your ad links to must then be optimized . Once the ad is subsequently activated, performance data can be analyzed and marketing methods can be fine-tuned.


For an ad to have the desired effect, it is not uncommon for advertisers to have to rewrite their copy multiple times before creating compelling copy with perfectly integrated keywords.


How much does it cost?


In principle, it costs nothing to simply place an ad in search results. Search engine advertising works on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis, so advertisers only incur charges when a user clicks on an ad and is redirected to the landing page.


The cost of each click is something that advertisers can decide for themselves, however, the frequency with which the ad is displayed corresponds to the size of the bid. The allocation of the advertising space is then decided by an auction, also known as Real Time Bidding.


Real-time bidding: the search engine auction


For each query entered, the search engine checks the terms to determine which ads are relevant and useful to the user.


When the search term contains a common keyword, there are often several potentially eligible ads, which are ranked in order of relevance in a fraction of a second.


An important criterion in ad selection in this case is the CPC bid offered by the advertiser ; however, the quality of the ad must also be taken into account to create the most useful selection of results for the user.


A particularly well-positioned ad is more likely to be shown in the most prominent positions during a relevant search.


Who Should Use Search Engine Advertising?


In principle, a successful SEA campaign does not depend on the size of the company . The area, assets and available advertising budget should be the main factors in determining the success of a SEA campaign.


Smaller companies should therefore be aware of using search engine advertising only when they are able to generate profit. Of course, it all starts with a well-structured website . Those who do not yet have a website for their company can start creating a website using an online website builder that helps you create your own space in just a few clicks.


It is recommended that you limit your ad copy to describing your main product or service only. SEA offers great potential for specialized services ; since the ad space is auctioned off by the search engine, the price of a click for an ad depends heavily on the competition. For this reason, it can sometimes be surprisingly cheap to advertise with a search engine if you are promoting a niche product.


You can also advertise quite cheaply if you tailor your campaigns to long-tail search terms with lower search volumes.

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