What would the digital age be without abbreviations? IT, CRM, SEO … you could fill entire songs with these abbreviations. They already have.

If you are looking for an answer to the question of what SEA actually is, then this is the answer! This much in advance: Our agency not only explains these terms nicely; it also knows what is behind them. And how you can use all of this to promote your brand and increase your online presence!

SEA is the abbreviation for Search Engine Advertising. or to put it simply: advertising in search engines. SEA and SEO (search engine optimization) are part of SEM, i.e. search engine marketing. This refers to all measures that lead Internet users to your website or another online touchpoint of your brand. To do this, your own offer must be optimized on the results pages of well-known search engines in order to generate traffic and achieve the desired conversion rates.

We’ve all been there: enter a search term and the search engine will bring up relevant hits. The first thing that catches the eye are the text ads, which are listed at the beginning and explicitly identified as ads. Up to four ads are displayed above the organic search results, up to three below. In addition, there are Google Shopping ads. Like the text ads, these appear above or next to the organic search results. They lead directly to the product.

The most relevant provider of search engine advertising on the German-speaking market is Google. These text ads are placed and managed via Google’s own ad service (Google Ads).
Banner advertising and video ads (so-called display ads) on partner websites in the Google network are also popular SEA measures for drawing the attention of Internet surfers to your own website, products or offers.

With Google Ads, the advertiser pays for every click on their ad. This means that there are no costs for placing the ad itself. The cost per click (CPC) depends, among other things, on the positioning of the ad, quality and relevance as well as the competition for the selected keywords and keyword combinations. The stronger the competition in a keyword area, the higher the click prices.

Google uses a kind of auction to determine where an ad is positioned. The advertisers submit a bid for this. Multiplication by the quality factor determines the winner. It all sounds very abstract, but basically it means that since the highest bidder does not simply get preference, but the quality and relevance of the ad is also decisive, even companies with a comparatively small budget can secure a top spot. So that’s good news!

But what is this ominous quality factor now? Of course, Google also has an algorithm for this, which is made up of, among other things: Click-through rate for the keyword, quality of the target page, relevance of the keywords for the ad and user, as well as the previous history of the associated Ads account.

You may be thinking: Why spend money when I can improve my ranking in the index virtually free of charge through search engine optimization? In view of the growing competition, holistic search engine marketing that relies on both SEO and SEA measures is recommended in order to sustainably strengthen the online presence of your own brand. Holistic marketing is a specialty of the Melters advertising agency!

The advantages of search engine advertising are obvious: the results of the measures can be seen and measured more quickly than with search engine optimization. Used correctly, the brand is displayed to the relevant target group searching for a specific keyword or keyword combination. Large wastage is minimized because the probability that a potential customer will purchase the relevant product or visit the corresponding website is much higher than if the ad were to be displayed randomly without any search context. This also gives you the chance to assert yourself against the competition, which is ranked higher in the organic Google search.

But that’s not all: a well-planned SEA campaign also has a positive effect on the organic ranking, as the Google algorithm also takes click and bounce rates into account in the evaluation.

In answer to the question “Is it really necessary?”, we say: Yes! Search engine advertising should be part of the standard repertoire of a holistic brand strategy. Our digital team will be happy to get your traffic rolling again! We identify the right keywords, produce relevant content and keep an eye on the numbers – this is how we lead your brand to success! Write us. Perhaps your next campaign is just a click away.