NATDA Magazine Jan/Feb 2017 | Page 44

Like most trailer dealers, you’ ve probably struggled at some point to come up with a way to generate new leads. You want to get your business in front of as many eyes as possible, but just simply having a website is not enough.
Did you know that, in a case like this, you can punch up the presence of your existing site simply by correctly using Search Engine Marketing, or SEM?
With SEM, you can land your site on the top of search engine results pages by using paid advertising. Imagine your website going from being on the third or fourth page of search results to being the very first thing potential customers see. SEM can accomplish this and more, allowing you to compete with the top websites, gain more clicks and customers, and move more trailers off your lot.
A Closer Look at SEM There are lots of SEM platforms to choose from but Google AdWords is by far the most popular. If you use AdWords, your ads will get massive amounts of visibility. After all, Google is the most popular of all the search engines, accounting for 1.6 billion estimated unique visitors in Oct. 2016, compared to Bing’ s second-place 400 million.
With AdWords, you can set and manage your own advertising budget, choose your own keywords and write your own ads. You can target your ads to display only in certain geographical locations, languages, or days / times. Then, using your settings, Google will start placing your ads in search results pages. Best of all? You only pay for ad clicks, not ad views. You can also use the Google Display Network to extend your ad presence beyond search results pages to sites like YouTube, Gmail, Blogger, and more using either keywords or topics. Used correctly, AdWords can be an extremely cost-effective way to reach new customers. In fact, businesses make an average of $ 2 for every $ 1 they spend on AdWords and, with the right strategy, it’ s possible to see even greater returns.
Running an AdWords Campaign Now that we’ ve covered in some detail how SEM works and what it can do for your business, let’ s talk for a bit about SEM account management. If you don’ t have the time or expertise to manage your own SEM campaigns, finding the right account manager can be crucial.
For trailer dealers, probably the most important thing to look for in an SEM account manager is someone familiar with the
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