There are reasons why many insurance agency owners do not utilize Search Engine Marketing (SEM) in their online marketing campaigns. Most of the reasons have to do with not understanding the process and time management. As an agency owner, do you have the skills to set up and manage a successful SEM campaign? Does anyone on your staff have a deep understanding about what it takes to use paid search to gain new business?

If you answered “no” to the preceding questions, you are not alone! The world of SEM can be daunting and is fraught with pitfalls. You could end up spending large amounts of money and not gain the business you expected. This can be the result of bad keyword choices, budget settings, or simply not having the time to keep an eye on your campaign. But this does not mean that you should rule out SEM as an important tool in your marketing arsenal. What it does mean is you should learn what you can, and then hire a professional.

Professional SEMs take much of the worry out of utilizing paid search by taking over a huge workload and actually making it work for your business. SEMs understand how to select the right keywords to drive conversions, how to best construct ad groups and landing pages, what quality score is, when to have overlapping match types, etc. If the wrong keyword, ad copy, match type, URL, or bid is deployed, it could cause a dive in quality score, profitability, or both.

For those working in paid search, our days are spent tweaking bid policies and tracking what works and what doesn’t, and then taking the correct course of action. Ads and keywords need to be constantly tracked, landing pages need to be tested, and campaigns need constant monitoring to be successful. When all of this comes together, you can expect a good number of qualified leads at a price that makes sense for your business.

So, don’t let SEM’s complexity scare you from participating. When done correctly, SEM is a powerful tool to gain new customers and clients. For modern agencies, having a newspaper ad and a website just does not cut it anymore. In order to succeed in today’s marketing world, your website, along with a good, strong marketing campaign is essential.