In 2006, Search Engine Marketing finally reached the mainstream as a marketing channel. Led by the Internet marketers, large retailers and other consumer-focused businesses, SEM is now deployed by organizations of all sizes, from companies selling to enterprises, to non-profits and the small business/SOHO market. In addition, direct selling has ceased to be the primary motivation as brand awareness becomes a primary driver of SEM efforts.

Accompanying this adoption of SEM by the business community is a growing sophistication in the ways the Search Engine’s award and allocate placements, new technologies that allow small business to effectively deploy SEM, and more competition for the customer’s eyeballs.

As the share of a company’s marketing dollar allocated to SEM grows, concerns will inevitably arise around the effectiveness of the SEM efforts and ROI on SEM spend. Through our experience, there are several key questions to ask that help the marketing executive get a handle on the channel and use SEM dollars wisely.

Is your SEM effort scalable, particularly for seasonable needs or new launches?

Do you have the ability to test new variables, new products, and new keywords against each other?

Can you identify your key metrics and determine what needs improvement?

• reducing cost per click
• increasing click to leads
• improving quality scores
• determining where your ads are in line at the Search Engine and what’s your bid

One objective should be to develop a process to keep your maximum bid at its lowest while ensuring the Search Engine shows the ads. This will improve your quality scores and maximize the revenue opportunity within the Search Engine’s blind auction.

For more insights and recommendations on how to maximize your SEM efforts, email us at tmngonline@tmng.com.