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What is SEA?

Discover SEA, vital to your digital marketing strategy! Boost online visibility with paid search and targeted bidding.

SEA refers to the practice of placing paid advertisements in search engine results. search engines to quickly promote your services or products. Through these targeted campaigns, you can reach a specific audience who are actively looking for what you have to offer, significantly increasing qualified traffic to your site. website. Mastering SEA is an invaluable skill in your marketing arsenal to ensure your business gets the most out of its digital investment.

Definition of ATS

The origins and development of search engine advertising

Search Engine Advertising (SEA), often referred to as pay-per-click advertising, is a discipline of the advertising industry. digital marketing which consists of buying advertising space on search engines to display your ads. This technique emerged with the development of the Internet and search engines such as Google. Over the years, SEA has become more professional and has been enriched by the emergence of new functions, new advertising formats and greater targeting capacity, responding to the growing need for companies to be visible to a targeted audience.

Comparison with SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

To understand your place in the online SEO ecosystem, you need to distinguish SEA from SEO. SEO, or natural search engine optimization, is based on optimizing your website in order to improve its positioning in the organic results of a search engineSEA, on the other hand, focuses on buying advertising space to place your ads. Unlike SEO, which takes time to bear fruit, SEA offers almost immediate visibility, but requires a financial investment.

The different types of advertising in SEA

In the SEA field, you'll come across different types of advertising. Classic text ads, which generally appear at the top of search results pages. Display ads, which appear as banners or images on partner sites. Shopping ads, ideal for e-commerce, highlight products with photos and prices directly in search results. Finally, there are video ads, often used on platforms such as YouTube.

What is SEA?

The basic principles of ATS

How auctions work

SEA works on a bidding system. You choose to place a bid on specific keywords; when these keywords are searched for, the search engine determines which ads are most relevant and best bid to be displayed. This process is automated and based on the amount you're willing to pay per click (CPC), per thousand impressions (CPM), or per action/acquisition (CPA). Understanding this mechanism is essential to managing your budget and campaigns effectively.

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Keyword relevance

Keyword selection is crucial to the success of your SEA campaigns. These keywords must correspond to the queries entered by the users you wish to target. You need to pay attention to their relevance, search volume and competitiveness. A good choice of keywords improves the performance of your campaigns and your return on investment.

Writing ads

The design of your ads is also a strategic point. Ads must be clear, attractive and call to action. They need to reflect what has been promised in the keywords, while being relevant to the landing page they link to. A good ad will not only contribute to a better click-through rate, but also to a positive user experience.

The major ATS players

Google Ads: market leader

Google Ads is Google's advertising system and the leading player in the SEA market. The service offers a wide range of advertising options not only on Google's search engine, but also on other services such as YouTube and the Google Display Network. Its sophisticated platform enables precise targeting and a wide variety of tools for campaign tracking and optimization.

Bing Ads and other platforms

Bing Ads, now known as Microsoft Advertising, is another important SEA platform, although it has a smaller market share than Google Ads. But there are also other platforms such as Yahoo! Ads and specialized networks that can offer interesting opportunities, depending on your target market.

The role of specialized SEA agencies

Specialized SEA agencies play a key role in helping companies manage their advertising campaigns. They provide expertise in choosing keywords, writing effective ads, monitoring results and optimizing campaigns. Using an agency can be particularly beneficial in maximizing the performance of your advertising investments and staying competitive.

Setting up a SEA campaign

Define campaign objectives

Before launching an SEA campaign, it's essential to determine your objectives. These may include increasing traffic to your site, generating sales or leads, or boosting brand awareness. Your objectives will define the structure of the campaign, the choice of keywords, the writing of the ad, and the selection of the appropriate bid type.

Selecting the right keywords

Keyword selection must be aligned with campaign objectives and user intent. The use of keyword research tools that provide data on search volume and competition is recommended. A good practice is to group keywords by theme to create targeted ads relevant to each group.

Creating ads and choosing formats

Once the keywords have been selected, it's time to create your ads by choosing catchy titles, compelling descriptions and defining a relevant landing page. The choice of ad formats also plays a crucial role in the appeal and performance of your ads.

Read also  How does SEO work?

Budget and bidding strategy

Determining the budget for a campaign

Your budget is a determining factor in your SEA campaigns. It must be in line with the size of your target audiencemarket competitiveness and your financial capabilities. The distribution of your budget over the duration of the campaign must also be carefully planned to avoid overspending and maximize the impact of your ads.

CPC, CPM, CPA strategies

Different bidding strategies such as cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM), or cost-per-acquisition (CPA) should be chosen according to your objectives. CPC is often used to generate traffic, CPM for brand awareness, while CPA is used to measure ad effectiveness in terms of conversion.

Optimizing acquisition costs

Acquisition cost optimization involves adjusting and testing your bidding and targeting to reduce cost per acquisition while maximizing conversions. This may involve automated bidding strategies, finer audience segmentation or modifying your ad elements.

SEA campaign optimization

Analysis and interpretation of results

It's crucial to measure the performance of your campaigns by analyzing the data collected by ATS platforms. This enables you to judge the effectiveness of your ads, keywords and bidding strategy. Analyzing these results will help you identify areas for improvement.

A/B Testing of ads

A/B testing is the process of comparing different versions of an ad to determine which performs best. This enables you to optimize your ad copy, keyword choice and other campaign elements.

Readjustment of campaign parameters

Once the data has been analyzed and the ads tested, it's time to readjust your campaign parameters. This may include adjusting bids, pausing under-performing keywords, or redistributing your budget towards the best-performing elements.

Importance of Quality Score

Understanding Quality Score

Quality Score is an evaluation made by the search engine that measures the relevance of your ads, keywords and landing pages. A high score indicates that your ads are well aligned with user intent, resulting in lower costs and better positioning.

Impact on cost per click and visibility

A good Quality Score can significantly reduce your cost per click (CPC) and improve the visibility of your ads. Search engines reward advertisers who provide a good user experience by offering relevant and useful ads.

Improved Quality Score

To improve your Quality Score, you need to optimize the relevance of your ads, the match between your keywords and the content of your landing pages, and the user experience on your site. You also need to monitor performance regularly to make adjustments where necessary.

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Mobile SEA and in-app advertising

Specificities of mobile ATS

Mobile ATS has its own characteristics due to user behavior on mobile, which is different from that on the computer. It's important to design ads and landing pages that are optimized for smaller screens and tactile interactions.

Advertising for mobile applications

For mobile applicationsspecial formats such as application installation ads can be used to encourage downloads. These ad formats are designed to integrate seamlessly with user flows on mobile platforms.

Trends and adapting to new Internet uses

Your ATS strategy must constantly evolve to keep pace with new trends and the changing habits of Internet users. This includes adjusting your campaigns for new devices, new ad formats, and new features offered by ATS platforms.

Mastering ad extensions

Available extension types

Ad extensions allow you to add extra information to your ads, such as additional links, a phone number, locations or reviews. These extensions can significantly boost the performance of your ads by providing more context and entry points for users.

Best practices for ad extensions

To make the best use of ad extensions, it's advisable to select them according to the purpose of the ad and your target audience. Extensions should be relevant and bring added value to the user.

Case study: effect of extensions on CTR

Case studies have shown that ad extensions can significantly improve click-through rate (CTR). Improving CTR is not only beneficial for generating more traffic, but can also positively influence your Quality Score, further reducing your costs.

SEA and the legal framework

Data protection compliance (RGPD)

Respecting the protection of personal data, particularly with regard to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), is imperative when implementing your ATS campaigns. You must ensure transparency and user consent when collecting and using their data.

Legal constraints on ad content

The content of your advertisements must respect the legal constraints of the country where they are published. It's vital to be aware of local restrictions on advertising certain products or services, and to respect them scrupulously.

SEA in different countries: understanding the legal specifics

When your SEA campaigns target several countries, it's important to understand and respect the legal specifics of each market. Regulations on online advertising vary from country to country, requiring a customized approach that complies with local laws.

 

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