1. SEM Capabilities
Winter, 2007

2. LGE’s Take on Search Engine Marketing
SEM is an ideal means to acquire new customers and drive more business from your existing customers.
How do you optimize your ROI AND drive topline?
Qualification: Ensure that you are driving traffic from visitors that will really buy from you.
Conversion: Once they land on your site, increase the chances that they will actually buy.
Scale: Once qualified prospects are buying at an acceptable ROI, spending can be increased to drive volume.

3. Components of Successful SEM
Organic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 
How can you show up more frequentgly on Google’s Page One?
Paid Advertising Strategy Development and Execution
How can you leverage the analytic potential of key word metrics, ad campaign results, bidding statistics, and conversion rates?
Landing Page and Site Optimization
Post-clickthrough, how can you ensure that you are capturing prospect interest AND data?
How do you create deal momentum, not just awareness?
How can you ensure that Sales is aware of and excited about SEM leads?
Metrics and Scorecard Development
How can you demonstrate performance to your Exec Team?
How can you know if you are making progress or just spending money?

4. Why Do Search Engine Marketing?
Implement and optimize SEM campaign to efficiently generate high-quality leads
Expand quality and quantity of new opportunities entering sales pipeline
SEM Done well: Drive highly qualified prospects at high ROI
SEM Done poorly: Waste money on poorly qualified tire kickers

5. A Common Client Situation
Keywords: broad, expensive, low volume
Landing page(s) with strong “call to action” for prospect capture missing
Current site offers no opportunity for relationship/list building, e.g.,
Blog
Tips
Newsletter

6. Typical Project Approach
90 days
On going
Phase 4c: SEO Optimization
Phase 1a: SEM Campaign Planning & Launch
Phase 2a: Bid Refinement & Ad A/B Testing
Phase 3a: Campaign Ramp & Opportunity Quality Assessment
Phase 4a: SEM Optimization
Phase 1b: Landing-Page & Offer Development
Phase 2b: Direct-Marketing Campaign Development
Phase 3b: Direct-Marketing Campaign Ramp
Phase 4b: Direct-Marketing Campaign Optimization

7. Key Activities Phase 1a: SEM Campaign Planning and Launch
Market & competitive analysis
Keyword research
Campaign creation and ad copy development
Analytics setup
Metrics scorecard development
Campaign launch
Phase 2a: Bid Refinement and Ad A/B Testing
Bid adjustment/optimization
Conversion-rate analysis
Ad variation creation & testing
Phase 3a: Campaign Ramp and Opportunity Quality Assessment
Campaign budget ramp
Opportunity scoring & assessment
Keyword/Ad/Bid refinement

8. Key Activities (continued)
Phase 4a: SEM Optimization
Ongoing management/optimization of PPC campaigns to optimize ROI
Keywords
Ads
Phase 4c: SEO Optimization (optional – can be started at any time)
Updates to site to drive leads through organic search instead of PPC ads

9. Metrics Scorecard Example

10. Boilerplate Business Terms
90-day minimum commitment for SEM retainer (Phases 1a-3a)
Additional activities bid on an “as needed” basis
60-day cancellation/change-of-scope notice
30-day payment terms
Paid-ad spending charged directly to you

11. Next Steps
Agreement on scope & terms
Get to work!

12. Background
SEM Capabilities