While trying to find the right way to advertise your business online, you probably weren’t expecting to come across the slightly overwhelming terms and acronyms that make up digital marketing. One of the biggest questions we get asked is if search marketing and PPC (pay per click) are the same. Although they fall within the same category, PPC and search marketing are slightly different.
So, what is search marketing and what other search terms do you need to know?
Here’s your go-to cheat sheet of search terms:
Above the fold: Content that appears on the first page of a user’s search results before they have to scroll.
Bid: The maximum amount of money you are willing to pay for you ad to show based on a keyword.
Conversion: A desired action, such as a form fill, phone call, review, purchase, or anything made by a website visitor that results in your favour. These can be defined differently based on your unique goals, but typically are characterised by a consumer taking the next step to become your customer.
Keywords: Specific words you use to determine when and where your ads will show. Choosing the right keywords for your search marketing campaign is not easy, but a search marketing partner can help you decide which keywords are best to bid on.
Lead: A desired action made by a website visitor that results in receiving their contact information for later use. This could be a form fill, voicemail, download, etc.
Paid Search Marketing: A form of paid advertising that allows you to bid on certain keywords specific to your business in order to show up on search engines under searches related to those keywords or terms.
Pay per click (PPC): Also known as paid search marketing, search engine marketing, etc. A type of ad that appears above and below non-paid, organic search results on a SERP. Once you create an ad, you will only pay when an online user clicks on it.
Search Advertising: Paid ads that show up at the top and bottom of search engines and in Google Maps. Search ads will show when consumers are conducting a search related to your business.
Search Marketing: This can encompass both paid and organic marketing or advertising efforts on search engines, including paid search marketing and SEO.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM): Another term for pay per click (PPC), search advertising, or paid search marketing. There are a lot of different names for the same thing!
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): SEO is the process of driving traffic to your website in order to improve your ranking on your favourite search engine. SEO is a slow, organic process of perfecting your website with correct links and formatting, but you can drive leads and awareness to speed up the process by combining paid search marketing and SEO.
Search Engine Results Page (SERP): The list of results on your favourite search engine!
Have this list of search marketing terms handy next time you dip your toes in the world of digital marketing or find yourself in a conversation revolved around search marketing. Understanding the difference between PPC, SEO, and other related terms is only the first step toward a successful marketing strategy.
When you’re ready to move forward with a marketing strategy run by a marketing partner, contact us! We know how to get you there.
