What are the best ways to reduce your SEM costs?

1 Use negative keywords

Negative keywords are words or phrases that you don't want your ads to show up for. For example, if you sell organic coffee, you might want to exclude keywords like cheap, instant, or decaf. By using negative keywords, you can avoid wasting money on irrelevant clicks and improve your quality score, which is a measure of how relevant your ads are to your keywords and landing pages. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to find and add negative keywords to your campaigns.

2 Test and optimize your ads

One of the most effective ways to reduce your SEM costs is to test and optimize your ads regularly. You can use tools like Google Ads or Bing Ads to run experiments and compare different versions of your ads, such as headlines, descriptions, images, or extensions. You can also use analytics tools like Google Analytics or Kissmetrics to track and measure your ad performance, such as click-through rate, conversion rate, cost per click, or return on ad spend. By testing and optimizing your ads, you can find out what works best for your audience and budget and eliminate what doesn't.

3 Adjust your bids and budgets

Another way to reduce your SEM costs is to adjust your bids and budgets according to your goals and results. You can use tools like Google Ads or Bing Ads to set and manage your bids and budgets for your campaigns, ad groups, or keywords. You can also use features like bid strategies, bid modifiers, or bid adjustments to automate or customize your bidding based on factors like location, device, time, or audience. By adjusting your bids and budgets, you can control how much you spend on your ads and optimize your return on investment.

4 Target the right keywords and audiences

One of the most important factors that affect your SEM costs is the quality and relevance of your keywords and audiences. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to research and select the best keywords for your campaigns, based on factors like search volume, competition, intent, or cost. You can also use tools like Google Ads or Bing Ads to target the right audiences for your ads, based on factors like demographics, interests, behaviors, or remarketing lists. By targeting the right keywords and audiences, you can increase your chances of reaching qualified prospects and generating conversions.

5 Improve your landing pages

Your landing pages are the pages that your visitors see after they click on your ads. They are crucial for converting your visitors into customers and reducing your SEM costs. You can use tools like Unbounce or Instapage to create and optimize your landing pages, based on best practices like clear headlines, compelling copy, relevant images, strong calls to action, or fast loading speed. You can also use tools like Google Analytics or Kissmetrics to test and measure your landing page performance, such as bounce rate, time on page, or conversion rate. By improving your landing pages, you can enhance your user experience and increase your quality score.

6 Monitor and analyze your results

The final way to reduce your SEM costs is to monitor and analyze your results regularly. You can use tools like Google Ads or Bing Ads to track and report your campaign performance, such as impressions, clicks, conversions, or cost. You can also use tools like Google Analytics or Kissmetrics to analyze and understand your campaign data, such as traffic sources, user behavior, or conversion paths. By monitoring and analyzing your results, you can identify and fix any issues, optimize your campaigns, and measure your success.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?