Search engine marketing (SEM) stands for paid advertising in search engines. These ads show up above, below or on the right side of the organic search results. The most popular option for SEM are Google AdWords ads.
However, Google AdWords is not the only possibility for SEM. In this article we will show you alternative options for search engine advertising, beyond the search engine giant.
Search Engine Marketing with Google AdWords
With a market share of about 90%, Google is the most often used search engine and Google Adwords the most frequently used tool for search engine marketing. However, by only using Google, many advertisers do not use the full potential of search engine advertising.
So which other possibilities do you have?
SEM Possibilities Beyond Google AdWords
Depending on your target market, the following advertising tools can complement or even substitute Google AdWords.
Bing Ads
With nearly 7% market share worldwide, the Bing/Yahoo! network is the largest search engine after Google. In the USA the market share of Bing/Yahoo! is nearly 20%. For this target market Bing ads is a must.
Bing ads work similar as Google AdWords and have some benefits also for Europe. The ads are not only displayed in Bing but also in Yahoo! and other partner networks.
Yandex
Yandex has a market share of nearly 60% in Russia. Google is only the second largest search engine in Russia with a market share of about 32%. For all of Europe, Yandex has a market share of 1.2%. If Russia is your target market, you have to include Yandex in your SEM strategy. A special Yandex feature compared to the other SEM tools: You can book static or animated banners on the search engine results pages.
Baidu
Baidu is used in China, where it has a market share of over 70%. Google only has a market share of 2.36% in China. The worldwide market share of Baidu is only approximately 0.8%. You can set up and manage the Baidu account without any knowledge of the Chinese language, because Baidu offers assistance with an English speaking support team.
DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo is a rather small search engine with a small market share (for now). The recent developments promise potential for this search engine. Ads can be set up through Bing ads because DuckDuckGo is part of the Bing/Yahoo! partner network.
The SEM possibilities beyond Google AdWords outlined above offer a lot of potential for advertisers and, depending on the target market, are a must for your business.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please send me an email.
