Search Engine Marketing & Google AdWords

In previous blog posts, we have talked about Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) which refers to any unpaid activities that result in higher rankings using various search engines. In this post, we are going to talk about Search Engine Marketing which is a method of marketing that businesses pay search engines to showcase their business through paid ads.

First of all, when you type in, “dentist near me” in a search engine, what appears? Do you see your dental practice at the top of the page? Are you even on the first page? So, the first few options that appear and what we call Paid Ads. This is the most popular form of Search Engine Marketing (or SEM) and they are one of the most effective types of SEM.

Types of Search Engine Marketing

There are several types of Search Engine Marketing. Remarketing ads are one type of SEM. Remarketing or Retargeting ads are ads that follow you. For instance, let’s say that you went to Amazon and clicked on a shirt you are interested in. Then later that day while you are Facebook, you see an ad for that same shirt. This isn’t a coincidence. Search Engines and browsers use “cookies” to track your online habits to show you items (through ads) that you might be interested in. Therefore, this is a great way to keep your business in front of potential new patients. If they visited your website or searched for a keyword, your ad will follow that person around and potentially convince them to schedule an appointment.

As a business owner, paid ads (pay-per-click) can be a powerful tool to help promote your dental practice. You have to remember, you offer a service that people need and are searching for. Through Google AdWords, you can create pay-per-click ads (PPC) that display specific services that people are searching for. As a result, you can even showcase special offers or discounts. According to wordstream.com, on average, 41% of clicks go to the top 3 paid ads on the search results page. By using specific keywords and great ad copy, paid ads will allow your business to appear at the top of the page which can result in more site visits.

Finally, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) can help your business appear to more potential patients. If you are not currently utilizing SEM, you might want to do some research and consider using Google AdWords to create new paid advertising ads targeting your specific demographics.

 Learn How to Get Reviews

What ways do you ask for reviews? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!