6 Search Engine Advertising Benefits: Boost Traffic and Maximize ROI

There are about 1.19 billion websites on the World Wide Web. Take that number in for a minute.

Pretty insane, right?

Now, how are you supposed to battle that many sites to gain your target audience’s attention? Well, there’s the obvious consideration that many of those sites aren’t targeting the same people, and you also have to consider your industry and how that plays into your customer base. But still, there’s a ton of competition online. 

While it takes strategy, intention and great content, you can become the reigning website in your niche. One way to accomplish that is through search engine advertising. This method allows you to directly display your paid ads among search result pages across Google, Bing and Yahoo. You’ll see these ads pop up as the first options on the screen when you type in a corresponding keyword.

Don’t think this approach is worth it? We’re here to prove you wrong and provide helpful tips to get your search engine advertising strategy up and running. 

Paid vs. Unpaid Search Engine Advertising

Search engine advertising is simply a way to get traffic to your website through search engine results pages (SERPs). There are two approaches: paid and unpaid. Let’s break them down:

Paid Search

Paid search advertising is a type of pay-per-click (PPC) marketing strategy where you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. It allows you to bid for better ad placement in the sponsored links sections of the results page for a specific keyword. A search engine ad appears above the organic search options, consisting of a headline, display URL, description text and an ad extension. 

You can place a PPC ad in search engine results through platforms like Google Ads or Bing Ads, offering immediate visibility, precise targeting and easy budget control. While Google holds 79% of the desktop search engine market share worldwide, it’s still worth considering other platforms. Bing is the runner-up with 11% of the market share, Yahoo has 3% and Yandex is last with 2%.

Organic Search

On the flip side, organic search relies on search engine optimization (SEO) to boost a website’s position in unpaid search results — the area under the sponsored results and AI sections. Organic search engine advertising focuses on optimizing the on-page content and making the website more user-friendly by boosting site speed and mobile friendliness. Unlike paid ads, SEO results take a bit longer to appear, but they provide long-term value and credibility. 

Key Differences Between the Two Methods

• Cost: Paid search costs money per click, while organic search doesn’t. 
• Speed: Paid ads offer immediate results, while SEO takes time to build authority.
• Sustainability: SEO builds long-term brand awareness, while paid ads stop showing once the budget runs out.
• Placement: Paid ads appear above organic results, often with an “Ad” label. 

When To Use Paid vs. Unpaid Search Advertising

Both paid and unpaid search engine advertising are important for your overall digital marketing strategy, but they have different uses. You can employ paid search when you need quick online visibility for product launches, promotions or time-sensitive campaigns. It’s ideal for targeting specific audiences and testing keyword performance. 

On the other hand, use organic search to build long-term traffic and credibility. By utilizing these methods in tandem with one another, you can get the best results: paid search for instant impact, SEO for sustained growth. 

Search Engine Advertising and Search Engine Marketing: How Do They Compare?

Search engine advertising is a subset of search engine marketing. Search engine marketing refers to a broad strategy used to move pages up on SERPs, including both paid efforts — like search engine advertising — and organic strategies. Similar to paid and unpaid methods, you can combine search marketing and search advertising to help you reach users who are actively searching for relevant products, services or information. 

Here’s how they fit together to form a larger picture:

• Search engine marketing = search engine advertising + SEO: Search engine marketing is the umbrella term that includes all efforts to get noticed in search engines. 
• Search engine advertising is fast acting: It allows businesses to instantly appear in front of targeted audiences by bidding on keywords.
• Search engine advertising boosts search marketing goals: Search engine advertising complements your SEO strategy by capturing website traffic while SEO builds brand visibility over time. Together, they create a balanced, high-impact search strategy. 

Top 6 Benefits of Search Engine Advertising

So, why invest in search engine advertising as part of your overall digital strategy? Put yourself in your consumers’ shoes. Where do they search for information to help them make purchases? While some individuals may check out the local paper or get word-of-mouth recommendations from friends, most people are going to look online. Why not meet them where they’re already spending the majority of their time?

Additionally, utilizing paid search engine advertising can result in the following benefits:

1. Increased Online Visibility

Search engine advertising allows your brand to get in front of more potential customers. The more your ads rank highly on SERPs, the more likely people will interact with your website. If your brand needs a push that can get your content off the ground, consider paid ads the proverbial wind in your sails. It can act as the first gust, helping your brand gain attraction and, hopefully, retention. While it’s only for a limited length of time, it often gets your website right where it needs to be: at the top of potential customers’ search results. 

2. Targeted Traffic

Search advertising gives you a lot of freedom to target your most reliable customers. For example, you can focus on specific demographics, locations and keywords to reach the people most likely to invest in your company. By targeting your paid ads, you can improve the effectiveness of your overall campaigns and the likelihood that someone will convert. Just be sure to conduct market research to identify who you should target and what they care about. This will help you write the most compelling copy and get them to click your ad. 

3. Cost Control

Because you’re only paying when people click on your ad and you can set maximum budgets, you have complete control over how much ad spend you’re investing. This helps you maximize your resources and get the most bang for your buck. Unlike traditional marketing methods that require a one-time, up-front cost, search engine advertising can help optimize your marketing budget, ensuring it’s only being spent on actual interactions with your content. 

4. Faster Results Than SEO

Investing in SEO is like playing the long game: it’s putting time and effort into your website that will be fruitful in the long term. However, search engine advertising enables you to see results almost instantly. To know if those results are where you want them to be, keep track of helpful KPIs like the average click-through rate, cost-per-click and the conversion rate. Additionally, you can A/B test ad copy and images to see which performs better with the target audience. This helps you test different elements and change them as needed before selecting one to go live with. 

5. Higher Conversion Rates

By utilizing search engine advertising’s precise targeting tools, you can point your paid ads in the direction of users with high intent, increasing the likelihood of higher conversion rates. These users are already searching for something closely related to your offerings, meaning they’re further down the purchase funnel. Combine that with relevant ad copy and strong landing pages, and you’ve got a recipe for results.

6. Improved Local SEO

While your business may be trying to gain traction online globally, search engine advertising is also a method for increasing your brand awareness when it comes to local SEO. This is a crucial element of any business with a physical location. It helps your company pop up in search results when people search for a product or service in your particular area. For example, “hot chicken in Nashville” or “Chicago pizza.” 

Proven Methods for Search Engine Advertising 

Hopefully, we’ve given you enough reasons to pursue search engine advertising for your own business. Need a place to start? Don’t sweat it. Let’s go over a quick hit list of methods that work:

• Keyword research and match types: Identify high-intent keywords your audience is already searching for and use a mix of broad match, phrase match and exact match to balance reach and relevance. These are match types in paid search advertising that determine how closely a user’s query must align with your keyword
• Compelling ad copy: Write copy that speaks to your audience’s needs and includes a clear value proposition and call to action. Highlight what makes you different — whether it’s price, speed, quality or convenience.
• Landing page optimization: Make sure the page your ad links to delivers on the promise in your ad. Fast load time, mobile responsiveness and a clear next step are all critical.
• Ad extensions: Expand your ads with site links, call-outs and structured snippets to give users more reasons to click and improve your ad’s visibility.

You’ve got your orders. Now get out there and start reaching the best possible customers with engaging search engine advertising!