● Marketing
SEA (Search Engine Advertising)
An advertising lever that consists of displaying paid ads in search engine results through a keyword bidding system.
Full definition
SEA (Search Engine Advertising) refers to paid advertising on search engines. Unlike SEO, which relies on natural positioning, SEA operates on a bidding model: advertisers set a budget and a maximum cost-per-click (CPC) bid for each target keyword. Google Ads is the dominant SEA platform, followed by Microsoft Advertising (Bing). Ads appear at the top and bottom of results pages, identified by a small "Ad" label.
Ad cost and position are not determined solely by financial bids. Google assigns each ad a Quality Score (1 to 10) based on ad relevance, landing page quality, and historical click-through rate. This score influences ranking: an ad with a high Quality Score can outrank a higher-bidding competitor at lower cost. Ad extensions (reviews, prices, sitelinks, phone) improve relevance and CTR.
For e-commerce merchants, SEA offers a unique advantage: visibility is immediate, controllable, and fully measurable. A campaign can go live in 24 hours, with real-time tracking of ROAS (return on ad spend), CPA (cost per acquisition), and conversion rate. It is the ideal lever for testing new products, entering new geographic markets, or supporting seasonal promotions.
Concrete example
An online luggage retailer activates a Google Shopping and Search campaign ahead of school holidays, targeting "55cm cabin bag" and "cheap check-in luggage." With 450 reviews and a 4.9/5 rating on Google, its ads automatically display Google Seller Ratings. Its CTR is 28% higher than competitors running ads without stars, at the same CPC.
In this example, the stars beneath the ads represent a direct competitive advantage: with the same advertising budget, the brand earns more clicks, more conversions, and a better ROAS. Over a three-week holiday period, this translates to 30% more orders without increasing the budget.
With Review Collect
Review Collect is an accelerator for your SEA performance. Reviews collected via RC on Google and Verified Reviews feed your Google Seller Ratings: once you reach 100 reviews over 12 months, Google automatically displays your stars under all your Google Ads, whether text ads, Shopping ads, or Performance Max. These stars mechanically improve your CTR and Quality Score.
With a 40% average conversion rate on RC review requests and ratings reaching 4.9/5, your Google Ads campaigns benefit from a powerful trust signal. RC clients report a +73% higher average order value post-click: the star rating beneath the ad pre-qualifies the buyer and reduces purchase hesitation.
