If a small business is starting with SEM, what's the one crucial piece of advice you'd offer to ensure they get the best ROI?

If a small business is starting with Search Engine Marketing (SEM), the most crucial piece of advice is to focus on precise audience targeting and conversion tracking from the start.

Here's why:

Precise Targeting: Narrow your audience based on location, demographics, interests, and search intent. This ensures your ads are shown to people most likely to become customers, reducing wasted ad spend.

Conversion Tracking: Set up tools like Google Ads Conversion Tracking or Google Analytics to measure actions like purchases, form submissions, or calls. Without tracking, you won’t know what’s working and risk wasting money on ineffective strategies.

Pro Tip: Start with a small budget, test different ad creatives, and optimize based on performance data. SEM success comes from continuous learning and refinement.

If you're a small business just diving into SEM, my top advice is to keep your targeting tight and focused—don’t try to reach everyone. Start by honing in on the keywords that really match your niche and the specific problems your business solves. Also, set a max bid limit from the start to control costs and avoid overspending on clicks. And don’t forget initial exclusions or negative keywords to keep out irrelevant searches that can drain your budget fast. A lot of advertisers go broad right away, but for smaller budgets, starting narrow helps ensure every dollar counts toward a better ROI.

For small businesses diving into SEM, one game-changing tip is to focus on "intent-driven targeting" right from the start. This means prioritizing high-intent, specific keywords that show clear buying signals—think "emergency plumber near me" rather than just "plumber." With a tighter budget, you'll want to avoid the common pitfall of broad, generic keywords that attract clicks but lack the intent to convert. Here’s the secret sauce:

Start with Conversion Tracking: First, set up conversion tracking. It’s essential to know which clicks turn into actual sales or leads. Without this, you’re basically flying blind!

Use Funnel-Based Keywords: Instead of only transactional terms, cover different customer journey stages to make your brand visible to those researching or comparing options before buying. For instance, try: “best local event planners” for the comparison stage and “hire event planner today” for the purchase stage.

A/B Test Landing Pages: SEM is more than just keywords. Make sure the landing page matches the ad’s promise—no surprises! A clear, action-oriented page can be the deciding factor between a click and a conversion.

So, focus on intent, track every step, and match your landing page to the ad—it’s about turning curiosity into customers, not just clicks!

For a small business just starting with SEM, one of the most crucial pieces of advice is to clearly define your target audience and focus on high-intent keywords. Small businesses often operate with limited budgets, so maximizing return on investment (ROI) is essential. Begin by conducting thorough keyword research to identify the search terms that your ideal customers are using, particularly those that indicate strong purchase intent, such as "buy," "best," or "near me." Avoid broad keywords that may attract a lot of traffic but little in the way of conversions. Another critical factor is to closely monitor your budget and bidding strategies. Set a daily budget that allows you to test and optimize without overcommitting too much upfront. Make sure to track key metrics such as click-through rate (CTR), cost-per-click (CPC), and conversion rate to assess performance. As you gather data, continuously refine your keyword targeting, ad copy, and bidding strategies to improve results. Finally, don’t overlook the importance of landing page optimization—make sure your landing page is clear, compelling, and aligned with the ad to ensure a smooth user experience that drives conversions.

Here’s a simplified, actionable SEM strategy specifically designed for small business owners who may have limited experience and want to avoid common mistakes, unnecessary spending, and reliance on Google’s automated suggestions:

Smart SEM Strategy for Small Business Owners: Practical Steps to Maximize ROI:

1. Start by Ensuring Conversion Tracking is Accurate 

Set up your conversion tracking immediately to avoid guessing what works. Use tools like Google Analytics to track leads and purchases properly. This way, you’ll know which ads are driving results. Without proper tracking, you risk wasting money on ads that don’t convert.

2. Leverage Funnel-Based Keyword Research for Maximum Reach

Instead of just going after competitive, transactional keywords, focus on covering the entire customer journey (start with commercial and transactional). Use keywords for:

Informational Stage: “How to choose the best yoga studio”

Navigational Stage: “Yoga studio XYZ reviews”

Commercial Stage: “Affordable yoga classes near me”

Transactional Stage: “Sign up for yoga class today”

This approach ensures your business is visible at every touchpoint, whether customers are researching, comparing, or ready to buy.

3. Use Phrase Match Keywords to Control Costs

Avoid using broad-match keywords initially—they’ll eat through your budget quickly with irrelevant clicks. Start with phrase match keywords to better control the relevance of the search queries triggering your ads. This keeps your spending focused on qualified traffic without budget leakage.

4. Gain an Edge Using Google’s Ad Transparency Library

Check out the Google Ad Transparency Library to see how your competitors are advertising. Analyze their strategies to get ideas, understand what resonates in your market, and refine your ad content. This competitive insight helps you stay ahead without trial-and-error spending - https://adstransparency.google.com/

5. Test Small, Optimize Fast, and Scale Gradually

Start with a modest budget rather than following every automated suggestion from Google (which could push you to overspend to train their algorithm). Analyze what works by tracking metrics like click-through rates (CTR), cost-per-click (CPC), and conversion rates. Optimize as you go—double down on what works and pause what doesn’t.

Here are the top three changes a small business can implement today to their SEM campaigns to maximize their ROAS (ROI), ranked by impact from highest to lowest:

1. Set Up Proper Conversion Tracking. Implementing conversion tracking is essential for understanding what happens after a customer interacts with your ads—whether they make a purchase, sign up for a newsletter, or complete another revenue-generating action on your website. This data is critical for measuring success, optimizing performance, calculating ROAS, informing bidding strategies, and identifying new opportunities.

2. Focus on Keyword Research. Keyword research is one of the most important steps in setting up a successful Google Ads campaign. Choosing the right keywords can make or break your campaign (see my other responses in this section). By using relevant, high-intent, location-based, long-tail keywords, you will make sure that your ads are shown to people who are genuinely interested in your products or services, significantly improving your ROAS.

3. Optimize Your Landing Pages. Your ad campaign drives relevant traffic, but it’s the landing page that ultimately converts that traffic into customers. A lot happens beyond the scope of your ad campaign, so for your Google Ads to be successful, it’s crucial that your ads direct traffic to high-quality landing pages that convert visitors into customers. An effective landing page provides relevant information based on the user’s search, includes a clear call-to-action, features high-quality images, and loads quickly. Optimizing your landing pages can significantly improve conversion rates and, drive a high ROAS.