Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Basics

10 Questions

What is an important factor in determining the weight of a link in Google's algorithm?

The relevance of the linking site's topic to your website's topic

What happens to the power of links from the same website as you get more links from it?

They have diminishing returns

Which type of traffic is from unpaid sources and comes from search engines?

Organic Traffic

What is the main difference between paid and organic search?

The cost of the ads

What is the term for the amount you pay when someone clicks on your paid ad?

Cost per click

What is a benefit of paid search advertising?

It provides fast results

What is the term for the process of bidding on a specific keyword to show your ad in search results?

PPC (Pay per click)

What is the main difference between SEO and paid search?

SEO takes time, while paid search is instant

What is the term for the sources of traffic to your website?

Traffic Sources

Why is it important to monitor the sources of traffic to your website?

To understand where your traffic is coming from

Study Notes

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Google's search results are divided into two main categories: paid search results and organic search results.

How Search Engines Work

Google algorithms use RankBrain, which employs artificial intelligence to understand unfamiliar words or phrases.
RankBrain rewards websites that provide user satisfaction and returns results that users expect.
RankBrain converts keywords into known topics and concepts to provide better search engine results.

Search Engine Results Page (SERP)

A SERP is a web page served to users when they search for something online using a search engine, such as Google.
SERPs are unique, even for the same search queries, due to customization based on factors like user location, browsing history, and social settings.
Search rankings constantly change as new content appears and search engines update their algorithms.

Google SERP Features

Featured Snippets: concise, direct answers to user questions, often displayed above regular organic results.
Image Pack: visual content results that appear when Google thinks they will serve a more comprehensive results page.
Video: video SERP features appear among organic results, related to a search query.
Top Stories: highlights significant events or breaking news.
People Also Ask (PAA): auto-generated questions related to the user's initial query, with answers that users can click to read on Google SERPs.
Sitelinks: special links that help users navigate to a particular part of a website.
Related Searches: prompts other search queries related to the initial search, displayed at the bottom of the SERPs.
Shopping Results: a carousel of products available for purchase in shopping ads from various ecommerce sites.
Reviews: review snippets with a yellow star rating and sometimes an image.
Local Pack: results that include businesses close to the user's location, often including a geographical name.

Backlink Traits

Links from domains that haven't linked to you before have more power than repeated links from the same website.

Measuring SEO Performance

Traffic sources to monitor:
- Direct Traffic
- Referral Traffic
- Organic Traffic
Measuring success walkthrough: Google Analytics and Search Console Measurement

Paid Search with Google Ads

Fundamentals of Paid Search

Paid search advertising: advertising within search results and paying only when the user clicks an ad.
Benefits of paid search:
- Campaign elements:
  - Keywords
  - Ad copy
  - Bidding
  - Landing pages
Bidding: bidding on a specific keyword, with ad rankings proportional to the bid amount.
Cost per click (CPC): the amount paid when someone clicks on an ad.

Differences between Paid and Organic Search

Speed: SEO takes time, while paid search has faster results.
Bidding: paid search involves bidding, while organic search does not.