Find a local
search engine marketing (SEM)

Search engine marketing is the paid side of search: getting your business in front of people the moment they search for what you sell, on Google Ads and Microsoft Ads. A typical gig covers keyword research around buying intent, a campaign and account structure, ad copy and extensions, landing page advice, conversion tracking, and bid and budget management with a monthly report on spend and cost per result.

SEM is paid, SEO is organic. With SEM you pay Google or Microsoft for the clicks and you can be at the top of the results today, but the visibility stops when the budget stops. SEO earns rankings over months and keeps bringing traffic after the work is done, with no cost per click. Most small businesses run both: SEM for leads now, SEO compounding in the background.

SEM is the broader discipline: the strategy and buying behind paid search across Google and Microsoft. PPC is the pricing model (you pay per click) and the day-to-day account management that keeps a campaign tuned. Google Ads is the main platform SEM runs on. If you want someone to set the paid-search strategy and stand the account up, that's an SEM gig. If you want someone to run an existing account week to week, look at PPC management.

Search campaigns can drive clicks and enquiries within days, because they catch people already looking for what you offer. Getting to a stable, predictable cost per conversion takes longer: usually 4 to 8 weeks of data and optimisation on a new account. Plan a 3 month run before you judge the channel, and expect month one to be mostly testing what converts.

Two separate costs. The management fee is what the freelancer charges to plan and run your paid search. The ad spend is what you pay Google and Microsoft directly for the clicks. Keep the Google Ads account and billing in your own name so the spend stays transparent and the account is yours if you ever change freelancers.

You can. Google Ads is self-serve and the setup wizard makes launching easy, which is exactly the trap. The wizard nudges you towards broad targeting and Google's defaults, and a small budget burns fast on the wrong searches. Where a freelancer earns their fee is account structure, conversion tracking, negative keywords and the weekly tuning that turns spend into leads. A common middle path is paying someone to build and stabilise the account, then handing it over with a runbook.

Track one primary number: cost per lead or cost per sale, measured by conversion tracking on your site. The supporting signals are a falling cost per result over time, a clean search term report with little wasted spend, and a landing page that converts. Clicks, impressions and a high click-through rate on their own prove nothing. Ask for cost per result in every monthly report, in plain English.

Freelance SEM management in Australia typically runs $1,000 to $4,000 a month, with single-channel accounts from around $500 and larger competitive accounts higher again. Some freelancers charge a flat fee, others a percentage of ad spend (commonly 10 to 20%). Either way the fee is separate from the ad spend itself, which you pay Google and Microsoft directly. A one-off account build or audit can be priced as a fixed gig instead of a monthly retainer.

Ask how they structure an account and how they report on cost per result, not just clicks. Look for real examples at your budget level, and check the account gets built under your own Google Ads login. Verified reviews on Unjumble that mention concrete lead or sales numbers beat any certification. Be wary of anyone guaranteeing a cost per click or a position before they've seen your account.

Post an SEM gig in 60 seconds. Describe the work, set your budget and timeframe, and choose whether it is time-based or outcome-based. Local freelancers send a bid with a quote, you compare their profiles, portfolios and reviews, then pick the one that fits. Posting is free, so you only pay for the work.

Every gig runs on a payment schedule you both agree on up front, and every payment is held securely through Stripe. On an outcome-based gig you fund each stage before the work starts and it is released once you sign off. On a time-based gig you are charged for each month as it starts, and it is released to your freelancer once that month has been worked. No chasing invoices, and no paying for work that is not done.