search engine marketing (SEM) - why your website needs it

What is search engine marketing (SEM)?

Search engine marketing is a form of digital marketing that aims to increase a websites visibility in search engines such as Google and Bing through paid means including Google ads campaigns. With SEM businesses select keywords or keyword phrases that they believe their customers may be using to find their products or services like theirs. The goal of SEM is to drive high quality and relevant traffic to your website or landing pages that specifically target new products or limited time offers or events.

Let’s face it: having a website is no longer enough. If you run a small business, you’ve probably spent time (and money) building a decent-looking site. But here’s the thing if no one’s finding it, what’s the point? That’s where search engine marketing (or SEM) comes in.

Plenty of small business owners who thought just putting up a site was the finish line. In reality, it’s just the starting point. If you want people to actually discover your business online, you need to make your site visible and that's exactly what SEM is all about.

Search Engine Marketing image showing increased traffic to a wesbite

Why SEMis important?

SEM is important because it delivers immediate results and visibility. SEM allows businesses to appear at the top of search results almost instantly. It is ideal for promoting our services, launching new products and promoting special offers in a crowded markets even when your organic rank is doing well on SEO.

For new newly launched websites that haven’t yet built strong organic rankings SEM provides a fast-track to get your website to the top of googles search results. Even well-established business use SEM to maintain a competitive edge during key seasons or campaigns. It’s flexible, responsive, and scalable—making it a smart part of a well-rounded digital strategy.

Is search engine marketingworth it?

This is one of the most common questions: “Should I be running ads?” The short answer is yes, if your site is optimised for key phrases you wish to target.

Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising is the fastest way to get your business in front of people especially if you are a new business that google knows nothing about. With PPC you select keyword phrases relevant to your business and your ad shows up when people search for them. Better still you only pay when someone actually clicks on your ad. Sounds good right?

Well, here’s the catch: PPC can eat through your budget fast if you’re not careful. We have seen business owners spend hundreds of dollars on clicks without getting a single customer usually because they skipped the prep work.

To get the most out of PPC, make sure:

You’ve done solid keyword research.
Your ads send people to relevant, well-optimised pages.
You’re tracking conversions, not just clicks.
You test and tweak your campaigns regularly.

When PPC is done right, it can be an amazing tool especially for seasonal promos, new product launches, or getting in front of a local audience fast.

What is the differencebetween SEM and SEO?

Although both aim to improve visibility in search engines, SEM and SEO work very differently:

SEM is paid traffic offering immediate placement in search engine results pages (SERP).

SEO is organic traffic and requires time and content copy investment for long-term results.

SEO is a slow-build strategy based on content, back links and website structure, SEM has immediate effect and puts your offer in front of users straight away. A good strategy is to run them both in tandem using SEM to drive quick wins while building SEO for sustainable long-term growth. At Havealook we focus on ensuring your website is built with SEO in mind so it works seamlessly alongside any future SEM campaigns.

why an seo optimised website is an essential step insearch engine marketing

Before you even think about paying ads, get your website sorted. If your website is not SEO optimised, you are throwing money down the drain with PPC.

What does it mean to have an SEO optimised website? It means your website is set up to be easily found, indexed, and understood by search engines and it gives your visitors a good experience when they land there.

In practical terms, this means:

Clean, easy-to-read and relevant content that includes keyword rich titles and page text.
Fast load times no one likes a slow site
Mobile responsiveness as most often your customers are using a mobile device when searching.
Accurate page titles and meta descriptions that reflect what the page is about and more importantly that match what people are searching for.
Logical site structure your content should be easy to navigate.

It’s not magic, but it does take effort and it makes a big difference.

Actionable tips to get started withSearch engine marketing

If you are feeling a little overwhelmed, do not worry. Here is a quick step-by-step to get the ball rolling:

Check Your Website Health

Use free tools like Google Search Console or Uber suggest to see how your site is performing and to identify crawl errors. Look for missing meta descriptions, title tags and mobile usability issues.

Do Basic Keyword Research

Try thinking like your customer, what would they search for what keyword phrases would they use to find your service or product. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or Answer The Public to find those phrases.

Optimise Your Content

Update your main website pages with keyword rich titles and tags, for phrases that your ideal customer is searching for.

Set Up a Simple PPC Campaign

If you’ve never tried Google Ads, start small. Pick 2–3 key search terms and set a daily budget. Watch how it performs and adjust.

Track Everything

Set up Google Analytics and Google Search Console which allows you to track metrics and see what is converting and what’s not so that you can make adjustments.

Why blending seo and ppc search engine marketing techniques drives better results

In our experience, the best approach is a mix of both strategies for optimal results.

Here's Why:

SEO takes time to build but gives you lasting visibility. While PPC delivers immediate results as your SEO is gaining traction and you can use the data gained from PPC campaigns such as keyword phrases that convert in your SEO efforts.

When your website is SEO optimised and your PPC is dialled in, you’re covering all your bases by showing up in both the paid and organic spots on the search results page. That’s powerful.

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Common SEM mistakes andhow to avoid them

We have worked with dozens of business owners trying to figure out search marketing, and these are the most common issues seen:

Sending ads to your homepage instead of a targeted landing page.
Ignoring your website’s mobile performance.
Overusing keywords to the point it sounds unnatural.
Not reviewing your analytics to see what’s working.
Giving up too early on both SEO and PPC efforts, it takes time to see results specifically with SEO which is not a sprint but rather a marathon.

The fix? Focus on the basics, stay the course and be open to learning and making adjustments.

Don't just build a website - let search engine markeitngmake it work for you

Search engine marketing is achievable for all and you don’t need to be a SEO expert or have a marketing degree to see results or to have a go at it. Taking the time to understand how your customers search can make a huge difference.

So what's the next step?

Start with simple optimisation tasks that ensure your website can be found by google and your customers. Then, experiment with a small PPC campaign. Analyse the data and make necessary tweaks. Whether you have a go yourself or employ a professional to help you, investing in search engine marketing is a smart choice if you really want to grow your business online.

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