Finding meaningful and qualified leads is a big challenge for any business owner. With user preferences changing rapidly, you must constantly tackle the problem of finding customers who would invest in your product or service regularly.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) can generate quick leads for your business. It is a method to promote and advertise your content to make it rank higher in search results. SEM increases the visibility of your website through paid advertising in the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs).
You can use platforms like Google Ads, Bing Ads, etc., to run SEM campaigns like pay-per-click (PPC). Search engine marketing helps drive brand awareness, gather qualified leads, and boost sales.
In this article, we will discuss the top-paid search tactics to generate leads.
How Search Engine Marketing Generates Leads
Through SEM, you can bid on specific keywords that are most relevant to your business. When a user searches for those keywords on the search engine, your ad will appear at the top of the SERP.
For example, if you run a beauty salon in Seattle, the keyword can be “best beauty salon in Seattle.” This way, you target customers who are most likely to visit your business. Your ad copy also must be compelling enough to fetch clicks. Once a user clicks the ad, they’ll be directed to your landing page for conversion.
Search engine marketing lead generation is immensely effective and can start driving traffic within hours after its launch. Statistics say that 66% of all unique search queries lead to one or more clicks from users. Hence, if done correctly, SEM is a sure-shot way of bringing in qualified leads instantly. Here’s how.
Top 5 Paid Search Tactics to Generate Leads
#1 Bid on the Right Keywords
Bidding on the right keywords is a crucial tactic for paid searches. Perform keyword research periodically to identify the changing customer preferences and search patterns. SEM can be quite expensive if you’re bidding on highly competitive keywords that have lower chances of fetching quality leads.
Hence, understand your target audience, research keyword intent, and fix a budget before bidding on keywords for search engine marketing lead generation campaigns.
#2 Customise Your Messaging
The effectiveness of your ad copy is a crucial aspect of search engine marketing success. When you create an ad, make sure to focus on its title, description, display URL, and intent. You can also add lucrative offers, targeted messaging, and engaging content to your PPC ad for better results.
The next step is to track the performance of your PPC campaign over time. The insights can be used to customise your messaging. Based on what the users want and which keywords are working best, you can create content copies that will appeal to your target audience.
#3 Focus on Your Audience
SEM works best when you know your audience and their preferences. To target your ideal audience, you can use methods like geotargeting and demotargeting.
This way, you can reach people from a specific geographical location or belonging to a particular demographic, as they might be more interested in buying your offering.
For example, if you run a restaurant in London, you must target your ad towards people who live geographically close to your business. A wider audience range may include travellers, food critics, bloggers, and so on.
This way, you can build a custom audience consisting of a highly defined group of people who either have a relationship with your business or are highly likely to give you a conversion. This is an effective way to generate high-quality leads.
#4 Analyse Your Data
To improve your SEM results over time, you must analyse your campaign. Track how your targeted keywords are performing. Analyse your audience response by checking their most active platform, most performed actions, click and bounce rate, etc.
Moreover, check the bidding level of your keyword, such as the bidding amount and cost per click. The insights gained from data analysis can be used to adjust your campaign strategy, budget, and lead quality.
#5 Use Remarketing or Retargeting
Remarketing is when a customer visits a website but leaves without conducting a desired action and then sees ads for the website on other sites or in the SERP. This marketing strategy can be used for search engines by adding custom messaging for retargeted users.
You can use customised bidding, targeted ad copies, and curated landing pages for remarketing efforts. Other ways to attract users to convert is by offering extra discounts or personalised offers, leading to a sign-up.
Your prospective customers are reintroduced to your products, with the likelihood that they’ll visit again and make a purchase.
#6 Talk To An Expert
Building an effective search engine marketing strategy can be complicated. It involves constantly tracking and analysing several aspects, understanding search engines and your audiences, etc. Luckily, you don’t have to handle everything on your own.
To get the best search engine marketing techniques for lead generation, you need to consult an expert.
M&C Saatchi Performance is a data-driven performance marketing agency that has been helping businesses create effective SEM strategies since 2006. We can help you connect your brand with your target customers and fetch qualified leads for higher conversions!
Key Takeaways
- Search engine marketing is one of the best channels to generate qualified leads for your company.
- Use platforms like Google Ads, Keyword Planner, etc., to research keywords for your paid search ad campaign.
- Check keyword performance, intent, geotags, search demographics, and so on, before bidding.
- Use customised messaging techniques to reach your target audience.
- Study your audience and use methods like geotargeting to reach them effectively.
- Analyse your performance and use the insights to improve results.
- Strengthen your brand’s recall value through remarketing campaigns.
Boost Your Leads with Search Engine Marketing
There are various targeting methods for search engine marketing lead generation. Methods include geo-targeting, keyword targeting, demographic, interest-based targeting, custom-built audience lists, and so on.
These can be used to optimise your SEM campaign. With a well-researched paid search campaign, you can target the right audience and get quick results with higher ROI, scalability, flexibility, and brand awareness. Moreover, you get measurable results that can be analysed and optimised to boost effectiveness.
M&C Saatchi Performance helps you create data-driven marketing strategies that connect your brand with your target customers and fetch qualified leads for higher conversions.
