Paid search advertising software, also referred to as search engine marketing (SEM) software, helps businesses advertise on search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo!.
Paid search advertising software allows companies to target keywords that are relevant to their businesses and gain more prominent positioning in search engine results. This helps them earn visibility with users who are already searching for those keywords. Paid search advertising software is typically used by marketing teams or marketing and advertising agencies to identify, target, and bid on keywords. They also help create and optimize ads, as well as track conversion and return on ad spend (ROAS).
Paid search advertising is usually leveraged for direct response advertising, with advertisers aiming to convert searchers on the spot. Paid search includes both first-party and third-party platforms.
First-party paid search platforms are those offered directly by Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! that provide direct access to ad placement on each of the respective search engines. Third-party platforms may manage ad campaigns across multiple search engines and may also offer functionality of display advertising software, video advertising software, mobile advertising software, or social media advertising software as well.
To qualify for inclusion in the Paid Search Advertising category, a product must:
- Possess capabilities to bid on keywords across Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and/or Yahoo!
- Offer tools to create text ads or product listing ads
- Provide workflows for effectively managing and trafficking ads within the platform
- Track key success metrics such as reach, conversions, and ROAS
