So, you’re running a growing business and seeking new ways to attract and engage more customers in today’s competitive digital landscape.
Search engine marketing (SEM) likely brings steady traffic through paid ads and SEO, while stunning email newsletter templates keep your leads engaged and advancing through the funnel.
But what if you could elevate your results even further?
Integrating SEM and email marketing can amplify your impact and reach even more potential customers. Though they might seem like separate strategies, aligning them can create a more personalised and effective marketing strategy.
In this blog, we’ll show you how to seamlessly integrate these approaches into your marketing strategy to support and enhance each other for maximum results.
Defining Search Engine Marketing and Email Marketing
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a digital strategy for elevating your business’s visibility on search engines through paid ads.
Simply put, when you bid on keywords related to your business, your ads appear alongside search results for those terms. This paid approach ensures that your business stands out to potential customers actively searching for your products or services.
However, there’s a bit of history to untangle here. Back in 2001, Danny Sullivan used the term SEM to describe all efforts aimed at driving traffic from search engines, including both paid and organic methods.
Fast-forward to today, and the understanding of SEM has shifted. Today, if you check Search Engine Journal, you’ll see SEM and SEO defined like this:
If you ask about SEM in ten years, the answer might have changed again.
Today, SEM is commonly defined as the practice of paying for search engine placements, while SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) focuses on earning organic rankings. In other words, SEM now specifically refers to paid advertising, not the full spectrum of search engine strategies.
Switching gears to email marketing—this one’s a bit simpler and straightforward.
Email marketing is all about sending targeted, personalised messages straight to your subscribers’ inboxes.
Whether you’re sharing special deals, company news, or valuable content, email marketing is a fantastic way to keep your audience engaged and drive traffic to your site.
How to integrate search engine marketing and email marketing
1. Use PPC to improve email click-through rate (CTR)
Want to give your email click-through rates a boost? Try pairing your email campaigns with a targeted Pay-Per-Click (PPC) strategy. Here’s a simple trick: launch your PPC ads a day before your email goes out and keep them running a few days afterward.
Why does this work? Seeing your offer in both PPC ads and emails helps reinforce your message. When people recognise your offer from multiple sources, they’re more likely to click through when they see it in their inbox.
This combined approach makes your emails stand out and can significantly improve your CTR.
2. Leverage keyword research from your PPC campaigns to enhance your email content
Identify high-performing keywords that resonate with your target audience and incorporate these keywords into your email subject lines and body.
This alignment ensures your emails are more relevant to what your audience is searching for, leading to higher open rates and better engagement.
3. Run paid search campaigns to boost email list growth
Looking to expand your email list? Use paid search campaigns to attract new subscribers. Design ads that specifically aim to grow your list and drive traffic to your sign-up forms.
This approach helps you consistently add new leads to the top of your funnel, setting up a steady flow of prospects that you can nurture through your email campaigns.
4. Utilise Gmail Ads to combine search and email marketing
Tap into the power of Gmail Sponsored Promotions or Gmail ads to reach prospects without an email list.
It’s a paid advertising format in the Google Display Network that lets advertisers place ads directly in users’ inboxes.
Gmail ads appear in the Promotions tab of Gmail as a collapsed message. When users click on the ad, it expands into a full-screen promotional email, offering a seamless blend of search and email strategies.
Run these campaigns through Google Ads to reach users directly in their inboxes. This method allows you to engage potential customers in a space where they’re already checking their emails, boosting your visibility and enhancing your marketing efforts.
5. Test your offer with SEM before sending it via email
Before sending a new offer to your entire email list, use search engine marketing (SEM) to test its effectiveness. Here’s how:
Run targeted PPC campaigns to drive traffic to the landing page where your offer is featured. Monitor how well the landing page converts visitors into leads or customers. Use this data to evaluate and refine your offer, landing page, and overall approach.
By testing with SEM, you can identify what works and make improvements based on real user interactions. This ensures that when you finally send the offer to your email list, it’s optimised for better performance and higher conversion rates.
6. Align A/B testing for search Ads and email campaigns
Maximise your marketing impact by aligning A/B tests for both search ads and email subject lines. Here’s how to do it:
- Run A/B Tests for Search Ads: Start by testing different headlines in your paid search ads. This will help you determine which headlines attract the most clicks and effectively engage users.
- Apply Insights to Email: Use the best-performing headlines from your search ads to test email subject lines. This approach ensures that your email subject lines are based on data-driven insights, increasing their effectiveness.
- Test Email Findings in Search Ads: Conversely, if certain email subject lines perform exceptionally well, use them as inspiration for your search ad headlines.
By coordinating A/B tests across both channels, you ensure that successful strategies in one area inform and enhance the other.
7. Target new customers with exclusion lists
Optimise your ad spend using email lists to exclude existing customers from specific search ad campaigns.
Upload a list of your current customers to Google Ads, Facebook, or other platforms to ensure these users don’t see ads to attract new customers. This helps you focus your advertising budget on reaching fresh prospects instead of existing clients.
8. Re-engage inactive customers with targeted Ads
Use your email list to reconnect with customers who haven’t interacted with your brand in a while. Export a list of these inactive customers and upload it to your advertising platforms.
Design targeted ads to re-engage these individuals and encourage them to return. This strategy uses your email data to revive interest and drive engagement effectively.
Wrapping Up
Combining SEM with your email marketing can transform how you attract leads and achieve your business goals. Instead of treating them separately, mix these strategies to harness the strengths of both. This integration boosts your lead generation and improves results.
Automate your email campaigns with the right software to get the most out of this approach. This helps you smoothly combine SEM tactics, making managing and optimising your efforts easier.
