Data analytics has led to a huge shift in the marketing profession. A large part of this is due to advances in digital marketing. Digital marketers have an easier time compiling data on customer engagements, because most behavior and variables can be easily tracked.
This is particularly true for search engine marketers. Earlier this year, VentureBeat published an article titled How data science can boost SEO strategy.
Search engine marketers must be data analytics experts if they hope to create value for their customers. You have to vet a search engine marketing firm carefully before hiring them to make sure they understand data analytics and can use it to their advantage.
Data Analytics is a Gamechanger for Search Engine Marketing
A team of Greek researchers led by Ioannis C. Drivas of the University of West Attica published a paper on the benefits of data analytics in the search engine marketing profession. The authors made some startling discoveries about the benefits of leveraging data analytics for search engine marketing.
They analyzed 171 cultural heritage websites with data analytics tools. They were able to get a lot of useful insights that could be repurposed for search engine marketing strategies.
Modern search engine marketers must stay up to date with these changes. The changing reality of search engine marketing is in equal parts intimidating and fascinating, as more experts must turn to data analytics to make meaningful SEO insights. For someone with an online business, staying on top of hundreds of Google algorithm updates and implementing data-driven SEM practices is the key to place digital content on top of search engine results and enhance visibility.
Moreover, 75% of people in a survey said that paid ads make it easier to find the information they are looking for. They won’t be able to optimize their paid ads strategy without collecting data on user engagement. But does every business have the search engine marketing expertise, resources and knowledge of data analytics to manage paid search?
The simple answer is no. And it is for this reason that most businesses outsource their SEM needs to a search engine marketing firm with a background in analytics.
Key Takeaways
Before you can appreciate the need to hire an expert with a background in data analytics, you need to understand the basics of search engine marketing. Here are some essential principles and definitions:
- Search engine marketing means promoting a business using paid advertisements.
- SEM, along with SEO, is essential for every business to enhance visibility.
- A search engine marketing firm helps with market analysis, designing, running, and managing campaigns, along with reporting results.
- Search engine marketing helps drive conversions, increases brand awareness, and brings in qualified leads.
These strategies can be very effective when used in conjunction with a stellar data analytics platform.
What is the Backbone of a Search Engine Marketing Strategy Based on Data Analytics?
If you search for ‘ways to increase online visibility’, you will surely come across data-driven search engine marketing as a technique. This is because SEM is among the most effective ways to grow your brand in the competitive marketplace. Precisely, search engine marketing uses paid advertisements that appear on search engine page results (SERPs). When a user searches for a keyword, search engine marketing enables your brand to appear as a result of that search query.
There are a number of ways that data analytics can round out your search engine marketing strategy:
- You should always used Google Analytics to see how much search engine traffic your site is receiving and which landing pages are getting visits from Google. Google no longer shares data on the exact keywords driving traffic through organic search results, but you can at least see which topics are driving traffic and make some guesses.
- You can use data mining tools to find new keywords to target.
- Data mining tools can also help you discover new linkbuilding opportunities. You can use data analytics features in tools like Ahref and SEMRush to see which sites are linking to your competitors to reverse engineer their linkbuilding strategies and improve on them.
Data analytics is a crucial element of any successful search engine marketing strategy.
Importance of a Search Engine Marketing Firm
Someone rightly said, “stopping advertising to save your money is like stopping your watch to save time.”
SEM is indeed important for every business. Here’s what an SEM firm that understands data analytics can do for it. Take a look!
Understand the Market with Data Analytics Tools
Market analysis is a significant part of the services provided by a search engine marketing firm. It helps you get the top-ranking keywords for improving the ranking of your business.
An SEM firm helps you identify and bid on the keywords being used by competitors that would leave them behind. There are a number of powerful data analytics tools that can help them do this.
Campaign Management
A campaign’s success depends on choosing the right combination of ads and managing it over its life cycle. SEM experts monitor your ad campaigns closely and make required adjustments so that your business gets optimal ROI.
Campaign Analysis
Analyzing the campaigns is essential to ensure that it provides desirable results. Most search engine marketing firms integrate in-depth analytics as a part of the strategic plan.
These analytics are used to study several parameters, such as user search history, keyword searches, hardware, and geographical location.
Did You Know?
Quality score is one of the most crucial factors for successful search engine marketing. It is Google’s rating of the quality and relevance of your keywords and PPC ads.
Designing Ad Campaigns
A search engine marketing firm also handles the designing part. It crafts and runs targeted ads on different social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Google.
Reporting Results
The duty of a search engine marketing firm goes beyond designing and running ads. It also delivers measurable results that the clients can easily track. Most reputable search engine marketing firms have advanced tools that help gauge the efficacy of paid campaigns.
Now, unless you can handle all these tasks, we suggest getting in touch with a reliable search engine marketing firm. But wait, let’s first see why SEM is beneficial in the first place.
SEM Drives Conversions
Search engine marketing is a significant conversion driver for diverse types of marketing campaigns. Whether you want new subscribers, contest entries or newsletter signups, SEM can help you with everything.
This is because paid ads are linked to conversion-focused landing pages.
SEM Increases Brand Awareness
Although considered a bottom-funnel marketing channel, SEM can increase brand awareness. But what if your ad does not even get clicked? Doesn’t really matter! Your brand name is still visible on top, and searchers will recognize the product and brand name.
SEM Leads to Consistent Traffic and Qualified Leads
Search ads can help generate consistent traffic for specific keywords and control the amount of traffic coming to your website.
What’s more? The sole aim of SEM is not just to bring leads but qualified leads. SEM allows you to create a custom audience that will be more likely to see and engage with your ads.
So, Should You Hire a Data-Driven Search Engine Marketing Firm?
Of course! Brands need to focus on SEM to see the immediate and long-term results and convert visitors into leads. Search engine marketing has the power to do this and much more. Big data technology has made it even more effective.
If you are also looking to increase brand awareness and target the right audience, get in touch with a reputed SEM firm like AdLift. The paid media marketing agency has delivered exceptional results for various brands, such as Vega, Nicobar, and Andamen. You can be the next and witness a boost in leads.