This is a Good Search Engine Marketing Consultant

Search engines used to be a fairly simple tool to help you locate a website or blog that would answer your question. However, with advancements in digital marketing increasing every year, the demand for search engines to become a marketing tool on their own eventually lead to the creation of search engine marketing consultants.

Search engine marketing has become an incredibly lucrative way to promote websites with 93% of all web traffic coming from search engines. In this article, we will discuss the qualifications, benefits, and duties of the consultants behind search engine marketing.

what makes a good search engine marketing consultant

What is a Search Engine Marketing Consultant?

Let’s begin with learning who search engine marketing consultants are. A search engine marketing consultant is a professional person or agency who works with a company to help optimize their content in a way that is search engine friendly and promotable.

If you own a business, the smartest thing you can do is create a website that allows customers to shop your products or services, contact you, and read your content (i.e., a blog.) In order for customers to find you, however, your website will need a format that is compatible with a search engine’s ranking system. That can be a confusing process for most people.

This is why search engine marketing consultants are necessary. They can analyze your website’s current traffic and implement strategies, such as landing page optimization, to help promote your website farther up on the search engine results page, commonly referred to as the SERP.

SEM vs. SEO

If you are familiar with marketing, you may have already heard the term SEO, or search engine optimization, before. So that might lead you to wonder, is SEO the same as SEM? Yes and no. Search engine marketing, or SEM, is the broader strategy that refers to the marketing tactic of optimizing a website in order for it to appear higher on the SERP.

Doesn’t SEO do that, too? Yes, but SEO is only a partial tactic used in the world of search engine marketing. SEO and PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns create the foundation of search engine marketing.

sem consulting

What do SEM Consultants Do?

Creating a website that is promotable on search engines involves a lot of meticulous, data-driven methods that include words like “web crawling” and “backlinking.” If you’re unfamiliar with these words, don’t worry. Below, we are going to list seven different marketing strategies SEM consultants use in order to help companies advertise their web pages.

On-Site Optimization

A major component of search engine marketing is knowing how to optimize on-site SEO. On-site optimization ensures that everything on your website will be easily read and indexed by search engines. This can include fixing headings, using a more functional coding language, or adding infographics that can be displayed on the SERP.

Knowing every element to this requires a lot of research and background knowledge of search engines. That’s why hiring a professional search engine marketing consultant can take the stress out of optimizing a web page.

Backlinking

Search engine marketers can also help companies get backlinks for their websites which increases legitimacy and improves ranking on search engines like Google. Backlinks work like a collaboration between websites and search engine marketers can help determine the best websites to use.

PPC (Pay-Per-Click)

Pay-per-click advertising, such as Google Ads, is a form of search engine marketing where advertisers will bid for a spot on the SERP and each time their ad is clicked, they have to pay the search engine. This form of SEM is incredibly successful and having a professional search engine marketing consultant who can set it up for a company is great for increasing awareness and profits.

Technical SEO

Search engine marketing consultants will optimize the technical SEO of a website by configuring a structured data code like HTML in order to appeal to a search engine’s understanding of web language. Paid search consultants also ensure that a website is mobile-friendly which increases page clicks.

Local SEO

Search engine marketing consultants are equipped with the knowledge on how to promote local businesses on the SERP. It’s important for local businesses to stand out on a search engine and for that, they will need local SEO strategies. A lot of these businesses can be brick-and-mortar stores that don’t have the awareness of a global company, so having a search engine marketing consultant can be a great resource.

Conversion Rate Optimization

In order for a website to be successful there needs to be foot traffic, but more importantly, there needs to be loyal customers. A search engine marketing consultant’s job is to help market a website that people will want to come to. It result in high quality long term lead generation. This can be done by studying the current website and developing a strategy designed to improve user experience.

Keyword Research

One of the most important parts of good SEO is using specific keywords and search terms that search engines can find. Search engine marketers can help a company determine which keywords are best for their specific content. Then, they can help implement those keywords in order to improve website rankings.

search engine marketing services

Benefits of SEM Consulting for Businesses

Now that we know what search engine marketing consultants do, let’s look at the benefits of using SEM for your business.

Increase Visitors Through Advertising 

Using PPC advertising can help put your website on the map by increasing the foot traffic on a search engine’s results page. Using SEM consulting for PPC advertising can be incredibly beneficial for local businesses who may have a difficult time reaching customers through organic SEO. More traffic means more opportunity for sales.

Improve Brand Reputation

Because Google relies on rankings in order to display relevant content, increasing your website awareness will improve your brand rankings. 67.60% of all clicks happen on the first page of Google so having an SEM consultant improve your website will increase the likelihood that more people will click on your web page.

Greater Reach 

SEM consulting is beneficial in improving the reach of a company’s website through the implementation of specific keywords, analysis of consumer data, and market strategy. The greater the reach of your website, the higher the profit.

Improved Conversion Rates Through Optimized Ads

When creating content for a website, it’s crucial you know who your target audience is in order to get the best result and highest profit. SEM consultants analyze consumer data that they can use for marketing. If a website is getting a lot of web traffic but limited sales, consultants can optimize a website in order to meet customer needs. Sometimes a search campaign will mean making a website mobile-friendly or improving loading times.

Geo-Targeted Ads

SEM can also help with geo-targeted advertisements if you want to promote your website in another language or a different country. These advertisements are designed to promote to people based on their location which is exceptionally helpful for local businesses who are looking for local customers.

Reduce Advertising Costs

You may be wondering how hiring a SEM can help reduce advertising costs if you have to pay for marketing strategies like PPC. Well, search engine marketing consultants will analyze the progress of existing PPC campaigns. Then, make them more efficient, thus cutting the costs of current, under-utilized advertisements.

sem consultants

How to Become a SEM Consultant

Marketing has become an incredibly diverse field with specialties like email, content, product, and SEO. It can be an intimidating field with a plethora of options. To become a SEM consultant or specialist, you will need to have a degree in marketing. Though nowadays, a similar field like communications, advertising, or business can also be accepted.

A lot of universities won’t specifically teach search engine marketing. So in order to get into the field, gaining experience through internships for SEO or digital marketing can be extremely beneficial.

Search Engine Marketing Services

A full-service SEO agency will customize each need of the client in order to show best results. This can include:

  • On-site optimization
  • Ongoing quality content
  • Off-site authority building
  • Comprehensive reporting
  • Organic Search
  • On-page SEO
  • Local SEO
  • Advanced reporting
  • Link building
  • Keyword Research
  • SEO-driven content creation

When should you look for in a SEM consultant? It’s important that they provide great testimonials, previous case studies, and experience in the field of search engine marketing.

SEO also isn’t limited to search engines only. SEMs who can provide social media consulting are beneficial. That’s because they can increase awareness and help improve brand reputation due to the number of users on social media.

What Makes a Good Search Engine Marketing Consultant?

So, to conclude, what makes a good search engine marketing consultant? Well, that will come down to results. Paid search consultants will analyze a current website. Then, they will devise a strategy that will bring a higher return through profit, clicks, and foot traffic. A good SEM consultant will reduce costs, improve foot traffic, and increase brand awareness.

How SEO Design Chicago Can Help with Your SEM Needs

SEO Design Chicago is a full-service digital marketing agency with years of experience. We are here to help you with your search engine marketing needs. We have access to all the marketing tools necessary to improve website rankings, become mobile-friendly, and implement strong keywords. Contact us today with your Chicago SEO needs.

search engine marketing consultant

FAQ:

  • What is a search engine marketing consultant?
  • What should I look for when hiring an SEO consultant?
  • Is there a difference between SEM and SEO?
  • What is a good SEM company?
  • How do I become a search engine marketing consultant?

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