SEM - It's Not Rocket Science - Part 1

SEM (Search Engine Marketing) - It's Not Rocket Science.  Rocket Science is pretty consistent and doesn't change just because you're logged on to Google+.  You can use some of the codes that were used years ago with Rocket Science and they will still apply today.  When you learn Rocket Science, what you learn won't be obsolete 3 months from now.  Most importantly, you can test Rocket Science by seeing if the rocket reaches its goal safely.  SEM, not so much.

The problem with having a company handle your SEM is that the only thing they are really interested in is showing that you're getting plenty of clicks and conversions for what people are clicking on.  But here's the key question, could you get the same results with SEO (Search Engine Optimization)? And how many clicks are you paying for that aren't beneficial at all?

Let me give you an example.  The name of one of my dealerships is Salem Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram.  We had about 6 or 7 campaigns including Salem Chrysler, Salem Jeep ..... you get the idea.  With our paid ads (SEM) we were showing up right at the top of the Google search. AWESOME!  Guess who showed up first in the organic (organic is your SEO) search.  Yep, you guessed it.  We did.

Now let's act like an average consumer who knows nothing about SEM.  I type in Salem Chrysler and the first one that comes up is the one I'm looking for, I click on it.  Do I know or care if  it costs the dealership money for that click?  NO!  It got me to what I wanted and that's good enough for me.  So what are we doing?  Paying eight dollars a click for something we could be getting for free.

Some times it does make sense to pay for your city and make.  Let's say, for example you are a dealership in Champion, Ohio that sells Chevrolet (which there is). But your billing address is Warren, Ohio.  Well, you better be doing some awesome SEO to get to the top of that search because you are competing with some other dealerships to get that spot.  As a matter of fact, there is no Warren Chevrolet so everyone is competing for that spot.  If I run that search in Google here's what I get.

Well we don't see the dealership in Champion, Ohio but we do see that Diane Sauer Chevrolet is dominating the page.  That's because Diane Sauer is in downtown Warren Ohio (I said there's no Warren Chevrolet, this is Diane Sauer Chevrolet) and the only Chevrolet dealer in Warren.  The other ones are in cities outside of Warren.  Cole Valley, for example, is in Newton Falls Ohio.  At least they are giving the consumer a chance to click on their paid ad.  Do you think that our Champion store might be missing some business because they are not paying for Warren Ohio?  Very well might be.

But here is the other question.  Does Diane Sauer Chevrolet need to pay for an ad when she is showing up all over the page from the beginning?  Maybe, if she really wants to dominate the page.  But she should be informed that she's going to be paying for clicks that she didn't have to (I've never heard that from a SEM/SEO company).

Ok now search your dealership city and make and see where you show up.  Are you surprised or not?  Now I know we are only using Google to do our searches but, at this point, they are the engine that most people use.  They are the search engine you're going to want to dominate.

If you are going to do SEM I would suggest using a company that specializes in it other than trying to do it by yourself.  You just don't have the time or the people to do it correctly.  One person is just not enough no matter how good they think they are.  But I would suggest to have a person in place that can monitor the results.  Set up a Google Analytics and monitor your results.  Use the back end tools with your web hosting and check your reports to see the results you are getting.

Next week we will continue with SEM and why you may want to cancel out some of the long tailed searches as well as some make and model searches where you're competing with your OEM.  Look for SEM - It's Not Rocket Science - Part 2!