Being present on the internet is essential today, but not sufficient: you also need to be visible! Indeed, nine out of ten people do not go beyond the first page of web search results. Improving your site's ranking in the results is a key issue in your web strategy.
A good referencing is then essential! In a previous article, we talked to you about natural referencing (SEO), a free but long-term strategy. Today we return to paid search engine optimisation (SEA), another component of search engine marketing.
SEA (Search Engine Advertising): how does it work?
SEA or paid search consists of setting up advertising campaigns for a website on search engines. It involves creating sponsored links that will appear at the top of the search results page.
A SEA campaign is therefore paid for and works in the form of an auction. It is most often paid on a cost per click (CPC) basis. When you create an ad, you decide how much you are willing to pay for each click on the link. The higher the amount you are willing to pay, the greater your chances of appearing in the search results.
Paid search is an advertising strategy that must be prepared, in particular by selecting relevant keywords.
Google Ads, the market leader
Google Ads is the most used web advertising platform. The reason is simple, Google is the most used search engine. It has a 90% share of the search engine market.
Two main campaigns can be implemented:
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Adwords campaigns: this is the creation of advertisements that appear directly on the search results page.
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Display campaigns: these are ads that appear on the pages of a website.
In order to maximise the success of your advertising campaigns, you can test your ads with A/B testing. Google Ads offers the possibility of testing titles, descriptions and landing pages.
What is A/B testing?
This is a process of testing two versions of the same element to see which is more effective and relevant. In terms of SEA, this will allow you to test two versions of an ad to see which one reaches the most users. Then you can choose the one with the best conversion rate.
Reasons to use paid search
Paid referencing is an interesting webmarketing lever, which allows you to increase your visibility quickly.
It will allow you to attract attention : with SEA, you pay for a better position in the search results, which then allows you to increase the traffic on your site thanks to the gain in visibility.
Paid search also helps to gain awareness of competitors and increase conversions quickly.
It is a flexible strategy: you can vary the budget and the number of ads you put up according to the period.
This is a priority type of referencing that allows you to target more precisely.
SEA or SEO?
In reality, SEA alone does not do everything, because as soon as you stop paying, the traffic will slow down. So you need to combine SEO and SEA in your strategy.
SEA, although often opposed to SEO (natural referencing), actually complements it. While natural referencing is a long-term strategy, paid referencing has a short-term impact. It is therefore wise to use SEA to accompany SEO on certain keywords. This will also boost your visibility during special events.
Finally, SEA, although it can be very expensive (depending on the competition!), is an effective technique for gaining visibility quickly. However, don't forget that an SEA strategy alone is not enough. Offering an optimal user experience and working on your natural referencing are two important elements to succeed in having a good referencing.
