Types of SEM Campaigns

Everyone who has browsed the internet has encountered different advertisements, whether by searching on Google, visiting a website, or even watching a video on YouTube. All of these are ads managed by the Google Ads platform.

To learn more about what Google Ads is and how it works, visit our blog by clicking here.

This variety of ads presents different characteristics, as not all advertisers have the same needs; whether it's attracting more traffic to a website or promoting visits to a physical store. That is why before starting your search engine advertising campaign, it is necessary to clarify two points: that you know the objectives of your SEM campaigns as well as the different types of SEM campaigns available to you.

Objectives

First things first, what does your brand or company need from a paid advertising campaign? This must be very clear not only when designing your advertising campaigns but also for creating, developing, and tracking a comprehensive digital marketing strategy.

The Google Ads platform itself, when you start designing your ads, requires selecting your campaign objectives. You can choose from:

• Sales: Drive online, app, phone, or in-store sales.

• Leads: Encourage users to take actions that generate sales opportunities and conversions.

• Website traffic: Get qualified users or potential customers to visit your website.

• Brand and product consideration: Help users discover your brand, products, and services.

• Brand awareness and reach: Reach a large number of users and increase awareness of your product or service.

Types of SEM Campaigns

Search Ads

Search or search campaigns are text ads that allow you to reach users interested in your products or services and achieve higher sales by appearing in Google search results and its search partners, such as Google Maps, Google Images, Google Shopping, or YouTube. These are usually the most common and widely used when it comes to paid ads.

Objectives of search ads:

• Sales

• Leads

• Website traffic

Display Ads

Display ads are ads shown on Google's display network, which comprises over 2 million websites, apps, and videos, including Gmail and YouTube, as well as forums, blogs, news, media sites, apps, etc. Display campaign ads may include an image and text, video and text, or just an image.

Objectives of display ads:

• Sales

• Leads

• Website traffic

• Brand and product consideration

• Brand awareness and reach

Shopping Ads

Shopping campaigns are ideal for businesses focused on online product sales. To generate these ads, it is necessary to upload your product catalog to the Google Merchant Center platform, so your product ads will appear in Google search, as well as Google Images and Google Shopping.

Objectives of shopping ads:

• Physical product sales

• Leads

• Website traffic

Video Ads

The main function of video campaigns is to promote ads and videos published on YouTube. Their popularity is lower compared to search, display, or shopping campaigns as they are mainly used by advertisers with promotional video content.

Objectives of video ads:

• Brand and product consideration

• Brand awareness and reach

A complete analysis of your brand's status, market niche, and competitors, among others, is what should be carried out to design a proper SEM campaign, aligned with the efforts of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy. Get in touch with the SEM strategy experts at Brand Industry for personalized advice and discover what you really need to grow in the digital world.