''Consider SEM as an investment not as a cost'' A must read blog that will change your view for SEM.

"SEM will add up to the cost of the company" This phrase has been the most common phrase that I have heard in my short career in the world of digital marketing especially in the case of start ups. There is always this mindset which is like "Currently we are only focusing on SEO, as we can't afford to go for SEM as for now". And today's blog is based on this very perception to which I have a different opinion.

Online Companies all over the world follow SEO in order to rank higher on search results which are no doubt the right way and the best practice in digital marketing for long term success. Apart from various perks of SEO that a company enjoys the best one is probably that it costs nothing. You just have to follow the best SEO practices and the algorithms will do the rest for you. Hence, this is one of the factors that lights up this perception of seeing paid form digital marketing as a cost.

Well, not really! No doubt paid form of digital marketing or SEM will add up to the cost or may increase your budget; but I would suggest you to look at it with a different view and see it as a form of investment rather than cost. In a traditional approach, to expand our business or to increase potential of the business we include new technologies, machinery, manpower and what not and consider it as an investment for the growth of the business isn't it?? Well, same is the case with SEM or paid form of digital marketing because that what you are intending to do i.e. increase the potential of your business. SEM approach is adopted for the very reason to rank at the top in the search results, being visible to the audience, generating leads and increasing the chances of conversions online that will ultimately add on to your company's revenue and profitability. So how come it became a cost? It’s an investment that you made to increase the potential of your business that has generated you results and profitability which is I guess the ultimate goal of every business.

For an instance, If you spending around $100 monthly on a well designed SEM campaign for your business and it helps you to rank higher on search which improves the click through rate and henceforth giving you $500 through conversions. So, was it really a cost or just a return on your investment? 

And the advantage which come along with digital marketing this is that you can actually track the performance of these campaigns in real time which means you are in charge of your investment and actually control the outcomes by tracking what is working and what is not and make changes accordingly.

Therefore, it’s the time to change the perception of considering SEM as a cost to your company. SEM strategy could really do wonders if it’s planned, designed and executed properly and produce fast and effective results for the business. It is not a cost, it’s an investment.