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Types of Search Engine Marketing

SEM combines two primary tactics: PPC and SEO. Both are focused on getting your business in front of people using search engines to find what they need.

  • PPC
    PPC gives you speed. If you’re looking for quick results, something like Google Ads can put your business right in front of people the moment they start searching.
  • SEO
    SEO works differently. It’s about building momentum over time so your website ranks well in unpaid search results. These are results that are likely to persist, even if they take longer to become apparent.
    When PPC and SEO are used together, they can boost your chances of getting potential clients’ attention.
  • Remarketing
    Remarketing helps your business build a list of users who have already visited your website. It gives you the chance to reconnect with people who have previously engaged with your site or mobile app by showing them tailored ads as they browse through other websites or use Google Search.
    Our remarketing services go a step further by helping you use those same user lists in broader audience marketing strategies.
    With the right utilisation of Google tools, we can shape an approach that aligns with your business goals.

Depending on your marketing budget and business goals, you can also leverage social media marketing (SMM) as an alternative and complementary approach to SEM. This adds another layer by targeting people through platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

SEM handles the search side of things through Google Ads and Microsoft Ads. SMM takes care of social media. When combined, these approaches provide coverage across all key digital spaces.

The Role of the Search Engine Marketer

Search engine marketers help businesses appear at the top of results pages using either paid ads, SEO, or both.

Paid ads include Google, Bing, and other search platforms. The goal is simple: get your business in front of the right people at the right time.

What sets a good SEM agency apart is how it handles that task. Throwing money at ads and hoping for the best is easy; making those ads work hard for your business is another thing altogether.

At Digital Spotlight, we’ve managed over 2,000 successful campaigns. That gives us a unique pool of performance data.

We use this trove to tailor strategies that align with your targets, whether you’re leaning more towards paid ads or SEO.

We work with real data, tested strategies, and platforms we understand inside out. That lets us make the most of your spend and get your business seen by people already looking for what you offer.

There’s no hard sell. Just a clear approach, backed by numbers. If it’s not grounded in reality, we don’t pitch it.

Things You Need for Your Google Ads to Succeed

Running Google Ads is far more than just writing the headlines and turning the campaign on. You need an agency that understands how to make the platform work for your business; an agency like Digital Spotlight.

We’re a Google Premier Partner. That’s not a label that firms can easily earn. It’s given to agencies that consistently manage large ad spends and get strong outcomes.

This status gives us a few practical advantages you can benefit from:

  • Efficient support from top-level Google teams
  • Access to internal data you won’t find just anywhere
  • Early trials of ad features before they roll out publicly

These aren’t nice-to-haves. They directly impact how well your campaigns perform.

Our SEM Services Are Available Worldwide

While we’re based in Australia, we’ve worked with clients in Europe and elsewhere. As long as you’re able to communicate in English, we can work with you regardless of your location.

Here’s where our SEM services usually make the biggest difference:

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Google Ads

Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) is a PPC platform that helps advertisers display their ads on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs).

On this platform, we can build ad campaigns that target users who are actively searching and ready to take action.

Some of these people might be close to making a purchase, while others are still weighing their options. We’ll target both by understanding how they search and what they respond to.

The process we follow for building a campaign looks like this:

  • Set clear targets, shaped by your input
  • Pick the right network to match your goals
  • Confirm the budget and gather assets like headlines and images
  • Build the targeting around keywords, devices, locations, and audience types
  • Put conversion tracking in place to see what’s working and what’s not

Before your campaign goes live, we’ll test everything. That way, you’re not wasting money on guesswork.

Bing Ads

Bing is often overlooked, but it’s a reliable option. If you want extra reach without the same level of competition, it’s worth considering.

Even if you’re not using Bing, many others are. And because fewer advertisers use it, the cost per click is usually lower. That helps stretch your budget.

Bing Ads works similarly to Google. You place bids for ad spots, and if yours wins, your ad shows up in top positions. You also appear on Bing’s partner networks, Yahoo! and America Online (AOL).

While the search volume isn’t as high, the audience can still convert just as well.

We don’t recycle your Google Ads campaign and slap it onto Bing. We treat Bing as its own channel. That means building a separate strategy that fits how users behave on that platform.

You’ll end up with a more focused Bing campaign that delivers better results.

YouTube Advertising

YouTube isn’t just for watching videos; it’s a search engine in its own right. And with the right setup, it’s a space where your ads can stand out.

This can lead to significant outcomes, as an estimated 43% of people who see a product in a YouTube ad ultimately make a purchase.

We can place ads that appear during or before a video, targeting your audience using keywords that match their interests. Done correctly, you’ll cut through whatever they’re watching just long enough to make them pay attention.

If you’re trying to drive interest or awareness through video, YouTube provides a potent channel to do so.

What You’ll Receive From Our SEM Services

At Digital Spotlight, we won’t just slap together a campaign and hope for the best. Our strategies will be grounded in real data, not guesswork.

We look at the numbers the way platforms like Google do. That means using proper statistical models to understand what’s really going on. It helps us find the signals in the noise and avoid leaning on mere gut feeling.

We also won’t push SEM if it’s not a good fit. If it doesn’t suit your business or goals, we’ll be upfront about it.

That’s why we always begin with a free technical audit. It gives both sides a clear picture of where things stand before anything else happens.

Once that’s done, we can talk about what an actual SEM plan could look like for your business.

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Strategies

If you want to understand how SEM could work for you, we offer a consultation that’s free of pitches or pressure.

We only work with businesses where we can make a real difference. So before we suggest anything, we’ll talk things through and look at what’s actually doable.

Advertising

We’ll handle the setup and day-to-day running of your ads on Google or Bing.

Along the way, we’ll keep a close eye on how the campaigns are performing and make continuous adjustments to optimise the results your budget is bringing.

Optimisation

Campaigns aren’t set-and-forget. We’ll actively manage them and make changes as needed. If something’s not working, we’ll sort it out straight away.

Creative Excellence

When it comes to content marketing, we focus on human-made, well-researched work that’s built for real people.

Everything we produce is written from scratch by a person, not an algorithm. Once it’s done, we run it through Originality.ai to check for plagiarism and AI (artificial intelligence) detection issues.

It’s all part of ensuring the content is desirable, relatable, and valuable, originating from a real human’s lived experience.

Our SEO copywriting strikes a balance between what search engines need and what your audience actually wants to read.

Custom SEM Reporting

Each month, you’ll receive a performance report that breaks everything down.

We’ll also give you access to a live, customisable dashboard through Looker Studio, where you can check your SEM progress anytime. It’s all in one place and easy to follow.

Search Innovation

We’ve built our own data models and segmentation tools to help you get better results from SEM.

Through our advanced techniques, we can improve your conversion rates and cut down the cost of acquiring new customers.

Transparency

You’ll always know where your money’s going. No hidden extras. No vague promises.

We don’t dress things up or keep you guessing. You’ll receive clear reporting, honest feedback, and measurable results.

Contact us today for a no-pitch consult

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If you want to talk to an expert about Google platforms, book in for a free no-pitch consultation.

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1B, Level 16/56 Pitt St,
Sydney NSW 2000,
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1/28 Donald St,
Hamilton NSW 2303,
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  • We have been working with the team at Digital Spotlight for over five years now. Their expertise, timeliness, and attention to detail have been instrumental to the success of our digital marketing. Most recently they worked closely with us on a complete website relaunch. With a project like this you would generally expect to see a short-term drop in SEO due to the sheer number of changes, however not only did we not see a drop in our rankings, but they actually increased substantially! We cannot thank Digital Spotlight enough for their support and the care they took to ensure this project was a resounding success.
    It has been an absolute pleasure to work with the Digital Spotlight team over the years and I would highly recommend their digital services.

    Iris Lever , CMO at PropertyMe
  • I can’t believe how well PPC works. We can’t keep up. Many thanks for everything You & your team are doing

    Joseph Khoury , Tree and Garden Solutions
  • We have too much work booked and are at full capacity. We are adding staff and resources … Thanks again and I would highly recommend you guys ,you have been brilliant

    Daren , Zeroharm l Fire Protection l Electrical Test and Tag I Pest Management
  • You and your team were able to get us leads for almost half the price we were getting before, and the quality of leads were more than 50% better… in only 4 weeks…

    Yuri Marshall , Visaone
  • I’ve been with Digital Spotlight 6 months, and the results have been terrific… many search terms related to my business, and my rankings have steadily grown each month…

    Director , Eastside Speech Solutions
  • In your industry where many take your money and do very little for it you are a breath of fresh air for small businesses like mine…

    Philip K. Bonser , Goulburn Offroad Carts
  • The outcome was beyond my expectation; we are very pleased with the results and their excellent customer service….I would highly recommend Digital Spotlight’s services for your business!…

    Sophie Sutjiadi , Grace Hotel
  • The first serious website lead we had translated into a 200,000.00 fitout… Digital Spotlight have paid for themselves many times over and I would highly recommend their commitment and service

    Tim Lassig , Director Hospitality Fitout Specialists
  • I now think of how much money I wasted before I contacted your company… and without reservation recommend [Digital Spotlight] to any Organisation or Individual

    Martin Roschach , Director Reach for Life Health
  • Working with Blake and Digital Spotlight has been great, we took the time to figure out a realistic strategy which has helped our organic rankings immensely! We are now on the front page for so many head terms that were previously out of reach!

    Sean Hearsee , Managing Director Sage Painting
  • Blake and his team are brilliant to work with! Great communication and extremely skilled to deliver awesome results. Thank you!

    Jordi Twomey , Twomey Dispute Lawyers
  • We have been very pleased with our decision to engage Digital Spotlight to manage and and improve our SEO. Blake, John and the rest of their team are very responsive and know their stuff. After some bad experiences with other providers in this space, we're not going anywhere.

    Managing Director , Avlaw Aviation Consulting

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does search engine marketing in Australia cost?

There’s no fixed price for SEM. What you’ll pay really depends on the size of your business, how aggressive your goals are, and the type of campaign you want to run.

On average, monthly costs can fall anywhere between $770 and $15,400. That figure can move in either direction depending on your needs.

Some agencies will happily slap a price tag on their services upfront. But this often gives the wrong impression that paying a set amount will automatically sort out your marketing. It doesn’t work that way.

We prefer to hold off on quoting you anything until we know what we’re working with and what you’re aiming for. When we provide you with a figure, it’s a single, flat fee.

If your campaign starts performing well, we won’t suddenly change the price.

Will search engine marketing work for your business?

If you’re selling something, offering a service, or trying to grow your brand, SEM can help accelerate your efforts. It combines paid search and SEO to increase online visibility for your business.

You don’t need to pick one over the other. If your budget has some room in it, using both can increase your visibility and help you achieve better results.

How do I get started with search engine marketing in Australia?

We offer a no-pressure consultation if you’d like to learn how SEM might work for you. There’s no pitch; just a proper conversation to figure out what’s possible.

We only take on clients when we’re confident we can deliver real value. If you’d like to discuss what’s realistic and what we can achieve, just call us at, Sydney:(02) 9053 3383 and Newcastle:(02) 4005 1616 or email us at [email protected].

Is search engine marketing the same as SEO, paid search, or both?

SEM is the broader category that covers both SEO and paid search. It’s a combined approach that helps your business stay visible now and into the future.

Paid search places your business at the top of results when people are actively looking. SEO helps your website rise in organic search, which usually takes a bit longer but builds a solid foundation.

When both strategies are working together, you can show up at the right time, whether someone’s ready to buy now or just doing early research.

How do I get started with paid search?

Start by reaching out to us. We’ll create ads that connect with the right people and direct them to the right part of your site.

You’ll be charged only when someone clicks on your ad. The actual amount depends on your bid, the relevance of the ad, and the platform’s overall scoring.

When we run your campaign, our job is to:

  • Track performance and show you real results
  • Help you get more leads and sales without bumping up your spend
  • Push your ads ahead of the competition, even when the online space gets tighter

What is the difference between search engine optimisation (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM)?

Search engine optimization is one part of SEM, but it can also be used independently. We offer both options, depending on which one suits you.

Here’s why SEO can be a smart long-term move:

  • It doesn’t need an ad budget: SEO focuses on improving your site so search engines naturally rank you higher. You’re not paying for clicks or impressions.
  • It sticks around: With SEM, results tend to slow down when spending stops. With SEO, once the changes are in place, the benefits can keep going.
  • It builds traffic over time: Paid search is instant, but SEO takes time to develop. The upside is that the traffic you generate via SEO usually lasts longer.

What is the CTR difference between SEO and SEM?

The click-through rate (CTR) indicates the frequency at which people click after viewing your result or ad.

Generally, SEO tends to have a higher click-through rate than SEM, especially once trust has been established.

SEO CTR often depends on your ranking in search results and how well your content connects with users. On the other hand, SEM CTR is usually steadier since ads are shown in prominent spots on SERPs.

What are the key metrics to run a profitable SEM advertisement campaign?

You’ll want to keep a close eye on the following metrics that can help you see what’s working and where you might need to make adjustments:

  • Click-through rate (CTR): Indicates the percentage of people who actually click. A higher CTR usually means your ad or SEO strategy is doing its job.
  • Cost-per-click (CPC): This is what you’re paying for each click. Keeping this low means you can do more with your budget.
  • Conversion rate: Gauges how many visitors actually do what you want, like signing up, buying, or calling, measured against the total amount of time people clicked on your ads during a particular period.
  • Quality score: Based on relevance and landing page experience. Better scores can lower your costs and improve where your ads show up.
  • Return on ad spend (ROAS): Tells you how much revenue you get back for every dollar you spend on ads.
  • Average position: This metric, which can be viewed in Google Search Console (a free Google tool that lets you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site’s performance in Google Search results), helps you understand where your pages show up in SERPs.
  • Impression share: Tells you the percentage of impressions (the number of users who have seen, or potentially seen, a link to your site on Google) an ad receives compared to the total number of impressions it could get. A 100% share means you’re showing up every time.
  • Cost per conversion: Tracks how much it costs to get a lead, sale, or other valuable action.

What’s the role of CRO (conversion rate optimisation) in a successful ad campaign?

Getting people to your site is only the first part. You also need them to take action once they’re there.

That’s where conversion rate optimisation (CRO) comes in. It’s about adjusting your content, layout, and flow to make things as smooth as possible for your visitors.

Good CRO involves:

  • Testing different versions of content and layout
  • Improving user journeys across the site
  • Making it easier for people to act without distractions

If more of your traffic starts converting, you’re getting more value without needing to spend extra on ads.

Are CPC and PPC two different terms for an ad campaign?

They’re connected, but not the same.

PPC is the strategy (pay-per-click), while CPC is the pricing model (what you’re charged per click). PPC campaigns could work on a CPC basis.

What is the definition of PPC?

PPC stands for pay-per-click. It’s a marketing method where you pay a platform, like Google or Meta, to show your ad, but you only get charged when someone actually clicks on it.

It’s often used to gain rapid exposure or to target a highly specific group of users based on their search queries or interests.

Does PPC increase SEO ranking?

No, PPC ads don’t affect how your site ranks in organic search.

They can work together in a broader digital strategy, but buying ads won’t boost your unpaid rankings on Google or any other search engine.

Are Bing Ads better than Google Ads?

Bing has its place. It doesn’t have as significant a market share as Google, but that doesn’t mean it’s off the table.

There are several areas where Bing Ads gives you a bit more control:

  • You can manage settings more precisely at the campaign and ad group levels
  • You’ll know exactly where your ads are running, with more transparency around partner sites
  • It lets you target search partners more selectively than Google does

Bing’s also less crowded, which usually means you’ll pay less per click. While it doesn’t have the same scale as Google, many advertisers find the returns from the Microsoft platform more than make up for that.

Still, Google’s dominance is hard to ignore: It accounts for approximately 81.95% of the search market, and that reach keeps it central to most ad strategies.

Can you do your own Google Ads?

You can. The tools are available to anyone, and plenty of people give them a go.

That said, Google Ads isn’t a “fire and forget” kind of system. Google’s algorithms change often, and you’ll be competing against people who work with this platform every day.

Without a good grasp of how bidding, targeting, and testing work, there’s a chance you’ll burn through your budget and fail to get the results you’re hoping for.

A marketing specialist who runs these campaigns all the time can usually stretch your budget further and adjust things quickly if performance drops.

Working with professionals like Digital Spotlight ensures the kind of efficiency that pays off in the long run.

How much does Google Ads cost?

Most businesses start by spending somewhere between $30 and $77 per day.

Monthly, this typically works out to around $1,540 to $15,400, depending on the competitiveness of your industry and the desired reach.

Can I check the progress of my SEM campaign myself?

Absolutely. You’ll get regular updates and full access to your performance data. Each month, we’ll send over a summary that highlights what’s going well, areas that could use improvement, and current trends.

You’ll also get a live dashboard through Looker Studio, where you can see everything in one place.

It’s all there when you need it, whether you’re after a quick snapshot or a deep dive into the data.

Will my ad be on Google 24/7?

It can be, but it doesn’t have to. Google Ads lets you choose when your ads show.

You might want them running all day, or only during times when someone’s around to take calls or respond to leads.

You have three options:

  • Anytime: Your ads run around the clock, every day of the week
  • Business hours: If you’ve linked your Google Business Profile, ads will follow those listed hours
  • Custom hours: You decide when the ads appear, based on your own schedule

This makes it easier to match your ads with your availability, so you’re not wasting budget when no one’s there to follow up.