Search Advertising
Search Advertising Essentials
OEPMA manages search advertising campaigns that put your business in front of customers actively searching for what you offer. We leverage Google and Microsoft Ads to ensure your ads appear at the right moment with the right message. Strategic keyword management and ongoing optimization drive sales and generate qualified leads for your business.
Search Ads For Your Business
High-Intent Customers
Reach people actively searching for exactly what you offer right now. These aren't casual browsers but motivated prospects with immediate needs. Search advertising connects you with customers at the precise moment they're ready to buy or hire.
Instant Visibility
Appear at the top of search results immediately after launch. No waiting months for SEO rankings. Your business shows up when potential customers search, driving traffic and leads from day one. Get found when it matters most without long lead times.
Compete with Larger Businesses
Level the playing field against bigger competitors with larger budgets. Strategic keyword targeting and ad optimization let smaller businesses compete effectively. Smart campaigns beat big budgets when properly managed with the right keywords and messaging.
Geographic Precision
Target specific cities, regions, or radius around your location. Perfect for local businesses wanting customers in their service area. Eliminate wasted spend on searches outside your market. Focus every dollar on geographic areas that matter to your business.
Real-Time Optimization
Adjust campaigns instantly based on performance data. Pause underperforming keywords, increase emphasis on winners, add negative keywords to eliminate waste. Continuous optimization ensures your budget focuses on what actually drives conversions and eliminates what doesn't work.
Complete Transparency
See exactly which keywords drive clicks, conversions, and revenue. Know what you're spending and what you're getting in return. No black box marketing. Every search term, bid amount, and result is visible, giving you total visibility into campaign performance.
Search By The Numbers
Online Experiences Begin with a Search Engine
Searchers Contact a Business Within 24 Hours
Search Ad Clicks Come from High-Intent Queries
Types of Search Advertising
Search Engine Results Ads
Text ads appearing at the top and bottom of Google and Bing search results when someone searches relevant keywords. Immediate visibility for high-intent searches. Your ad shows up exactly when potential customers are actively looking for what you offer.
Contextual Display Ads
Visual ads displayed across websites based on users' previous search history. After someone searches for your keywords, your display ads follow them as they browse other sites. Keeps your business top-of-mind with people who've already shown interest.
Local Search Ads
Target searches with local intent like "near me" or specific city names. Perfect for service businesses with defined geographic areas. Appear when customers search for services in your location, capturing local demand at the moment people need you.
Remarketing Search Ads
Target people who previously visited your site when they search for related keywords later. Appear at the top of results when past visitors are actively looking for solutions. Combine remarketing with search intent for maximum conversion potential.
Let's Talk About Search Advertising
Want to dip your toe into search ads or need another set of eyes on your current setup? Contact us today.
Frequently Asked Questions About Search Advertising
What is search advertising?
Search advertising is a method of placing ads based on what people type into search engines. It comes in two main forms: instant text ads appearing immediately on search engine results pages when someone searches relevant keywords, and contextual display ads shown based on previous search history. For example, if you own an outdoor store promoting kayaks, you’d set a geographic area, choose relevant keywords like “kayaks in Knoxville,” and your ads appear either as paid results on search pages or as visual ads after someone searches your keywords. Both strategies can run simultaneously for comprehensive reach.
Why do I need someone to manage my search advertising campaigns?
Search advertising is far more complex than simply adding relevant keywords. Search platforms are businesses focused on their own profitability, and professional management saves you substantial money. Many business owners follow platform suggestions or allow automatic campaign management, which we strongly advise against. For example, we once took over an account for a lawyer with a niche practice and discovered 50% of their previous year’s budget was spent on completely unrelated searches, resulting in wasted money and irrelevant inquiries. Professional management ensures campaigns target users with transactional intent, continuously optimizes performance, and aligns strategy with your business goals.
What are negative keywords?
Negative keywords eliminate irrelevant searches by telling the advertising platform not to show your ads for searches containing those terms. For example, a landscaping company using “landscaping company” as a keyword might appear for “landscaping company jobs” without negative keywords. Adding “jobs” as a negative prevents this waste. Similarly, lawyers often add “salary” as a negative to avoid searches like “criminal lawyers salary.” While click-through rates on irrelevant searches are typically low, there’s no benefit to appearing for them. Negative keywords are vital for ensuring your ads reach people actually interested in your services and likely to convert.
How fast should I see results from search advertising?
You should begin seeing traffic and conversions within days or even hours once your campaign launches. However, full integration takes time. Search engines balance multiple advertisers competing for the same space, gradually working your ads into rotation to maintain a healthy ecosystem. Campaigns typically don’t reach full potential until they’ve been running several months, allowing for fine-tuning, data accumulation, and algorithm adaptation. Factors affecting performance include your industry’s competitiveness, offer strength, landing page quality, and market demand. Remember that platforms continually evolve, so strategies effective six months ago may need adjustment today.
How should I define success from my search advertising campaigns?
Focus on conversions and cost per conversion. Conversions are actions that directly impact your bottom line like sales or lead submissions. Cost per conversion tells you how much you’re spending to achieve each valuable action. While metrics like clicks, impressions, and cost per click provide useful data, they shouldn’t be your primary success measure. A low cost per click means nothing if it’s not leading to conversions. Success boils down to two questions: Are you getting conversions, and are you getting them at a cost that makes sense for your business? Everything else is supporting data to help optimize toward these primary goals.
How much does it cost to have OEPMA manage my search advertising?
For accounts spending under $6,000 per month on ads, we charge a flat rate of $600 per month. For accounts spending $6,000 or more, our fee is 10% of ad spend, up to a maximum of $3,000 per month for accounts spending $30,000 or more. If your account requires initial setup, there’s a one-time charge ranging from $250 to $1,000 depending on complexity. Services are billed on the first business day of each month for the previous month’s ad spend. We operate month-to-month with no long-term contracts.