PPC VERSUS ORGANIC SEARCH

PPC and Organic Search both have their own advantages over the other. But before we can assess which one is more preferable, and more workable than the other, we must first see what both models have to offer individually.

What is Pay Per Click?

Pay per click or PPC, is an advertising model that is utilized on websites where advertisers are obliged to pay their host only when their advertisements are clicked. In the case of search engines, advertisers bid for keyword phrases that suit their target market. Most content sites charge fixed prices with each click, not preferring to use that system of bidding. Many PPC providers are available on the web, but the largest and most preferred operators are Google AdWords, Yahoo!Search Marketing and Microsoft AdCenter. These operate using a bidding system. This is because Cost per Click usually varies depending upon the search engine and the current competition for a certain keyword that is currently being used. Though the advertising model itself is vulnerable to abuse because of click fraud, Google and other companies have invested in automated systems in order to protect themselves against abusive clicks, usually done by competitors and other web developers.

What is Organic Search?

Organic search results appear in search engine results. They appear according to their relevance to what is searched, not as they are advertised. Pay Per Click is considered as a non-organic search. This distinction is how one should distinguish the two: after entering terms for a search, the first few results are typically advertisements or sponsored results. One can tell they are advertisements because they are usually in a box that distinguishes them from websites in the organic listings; these sites utilize SEO or Search Engine Optimization. The term, as of recent, has grown to be recognized throughout the web marketing industry. As of July 2009, it is used by Google through sites such as Google Analytics. These “organic” listings do not cost money, just to show the user what the most accurate results are, based on the words that they type; however, it is very likely that the companies who are ranking in the top positions are paying for SEO. One of Google’s claims is that a good percentage of their users click for organic searches, as opposed to clicking on ads. The reason many people prefer to click on the organic listings is the belief that companies that rank in the top slots are “authorities” in their field; this is because Google works hard to rank companies on their relevance and strength to the search terms used. Thus it is worthwhile for companies to have an ongoing SEO campaign to help them rank high in the results pages.

Advantages and disadvantages

In order to find out which advertising method that is more suitable to the current work conditions, both advantages and disadvantages for each method must be assessed. First up are the advantages of Pay Per Click advertising. One is that it is faster to set up results for this type of method. Right after setting up a PPC campaign, the ads will immediately show on the pages in less than ten minutes. Another is that it is easier to keep track of what keywords get the most visitors or the most clicks; and what keywords convert into money or profit and what do not.

Another very obvious reason is that it is a good money-making strategy. However, with every advantage that comes with Pay per Click there are an equal set of disadvantages. While it is easy to make money, each visitor has a “click” price. If you stop paying, the visitors may stop coming (unless they are return visitors who previously found and liked your site). Even though a PPC campaign is easy to set up, it takes expertise to fine tune it; there is a large amount of competition and novice PPC advertisers can end up wasting money if they do not have the right knowledge. Also, money would be wasted if the site does not do anything to convert visitors to prospects and eventually to customers.

In the case of organic searches, even though there is not “click” charge per visitor, there certainly will be ongoing SEO costs to achieve and maintain your high search results ranking; it is only after you have high brand recognition and massive backlinks to your site that you can ease off on your SEO campaign. You will always need to monitor what your competition is doing.

If your site is included in online directories or website listings, there is a large chance that every visitor would become a customer. There is also less long term investment, financially speaking. Which means, while the results won’t be immediate, in the long run you will reap the benefits of having the backlinks; this will help build your authority ranking with Google. This will lead to higher ranking in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

The downside of organic searches is that it takes time to increase your ranking in the popular search engines. There are a lot of variables regarding how fast you can expect to rise in the rankings including how competitive your chosen industry is. Also, you need to build high quality and relevant content. Whatever the case, those who want to invest in either type must first assess resources, consider carefully what is best for the website’s niche and decide how much time and expertise is required on your part to get it done right. Chances are great that you will get faster and better results if you outsource your SEO and PPC campaigns to experts; it is the higher and best use of your time and money.

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It is likely that you have heard about the Yahoo/Microsoft deal. The question is whether or not this will have a major impact on the search engine landscape. The concern for many online small businesses is whether there will be negative (or positive) effects on their website rankings. Another concern is whether the number of visitors a website receives will be altered.

What happens?

The union of Yahoo and Microsoft means that Yahoo is going to give up their search technology and opting to use Microsoft’s search technology instead. Bing.com will be the power behind organic and the paid search results that Yahoo delivers (with the exceptions concerning the Yahoo premium ads).

Microsoft will be getting access to Yahoo’s search technology and use it to supplement its own technology.

How will this affect your website?

• 1. You should optimize for Bing.com. Since the combined market share of Bing and Yahoo are estimated to between 15-26%
  2. Loss of Yahoo’s inbound link data?.Yahoo will drop its index and this may mean that the inbound link data it has will be lost. It might be important to get a snapshot of the inbound links data before this happens.
  3. The face of PPC competition is changing.Microsoft will be providing the search ads for both Yahoo and Bing. Yahoo will not be offering paid search advertising on its own. This will make it easier to manage ads for Yahoo and Bing on one user interface. This may mean rising bid prices for these ads.
  4. Website closings.The future of the Yahoo Internet directory is uncertain as well as their SearchMonkey and SearchBOSS search applications. Other redundant services such as maps may be eliminated as well.
  5. Two independent search result pages.Since there will still be user choice as to which search engine results pages will be used, it will still be important to optimize a website for both of these.

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73% of hotel customers researched their options online

Source: Harris Interactive

Online ads to generate $19 billion by 2009 Source: Jupiter Research

40% of Web users shop online more due to high fuel prices Source: Shopzilla.com

Car dealers receive an average of 37 leads a month from their websites Source: JD Power

86% of users click on the top five search results of a search engine

Source: Espotting

Annual Internet search usage and volume projected to exceed 100 billion in 2006 (you can image what that is now) Source: Kelsey Group

Today, the fact is simply this: every business must have a professional online presence and online visitors need to be able to find it. Companies that delay doing this will suffer enormous costs from having to play catch up to the ones who act now.

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SEO Services Interview

SEO Expert Reveals… Everything You Need To Know About Affordable SEO To Get Your Website Flooded With Qualified Traffic

Web traffic is what website owners really want and many business owners think that if they build a website, they’ll naturally be bombarded with orders. But that rarely happens. With hundreds of millions of websites out there, it’s easy to disappear in the shuffle – unless you know how to get noticed. And In this audio, that’s exactly what you’re going to hear.

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for short, is the technical term for all the strategies needed to build a strong online presence. It’s an elaborate, but necessary, process that ensures a top page ranking when someone searches for your products or services.

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The Internet is still in its infancy and search engine optimization is not going away anytime soon. It too is going to evolve and grow expand; becoming even more intricate than it is even now.

What is exactly is Search Engine Optimization or SEO? Simply put, it means doing everything it takes (of course optimizing in “white hat” fashion) to get your small business website found by those who need your goods and services. This could be for example in the case of optimizing a search engine keyword search.

Many people have typically just equated SEO with being indexed in Google and the major search engines. But it actually goes beyond this. Your site may be indexed but in order to rise to the top, you will need a lot more. In this sense, the internet truly is a web. All sites with traffic which are linked to your site and/or provide a way to list your small business’ profile (including your small business URL) for free will contribute to the cross-linking value of your main website. Your site’s presence “grows” with these links and profiles and social media mentions all across the cyberspace universe. One of the Internets most well knows standards for measuring a website’s stature has been Google Page rank. In the last few weeks, many websites have seen their page ranks take a dive. As many SEO experts are discussing the possibility of yet another Google algorithm change, some SEO experts are talking about whether Page Rank will continue to matter. Consider this: Google’s Page Rank patent runs through 2011. At this appoint other search engines will be able to license and use the famous algorithm. What does this mean? It means that other search engines will be able to integrate it into their products as well. Google in the meanwhile will continue to innovate and grow and reach out; adding even more dimensions to what it means to have a powerful online presence.

Microsoft may continue to try to chip away at Google (e.g. Bing) but Google, the innovative giant that it is, never rests (e.g. the recently announced Chrome OS). Industry watchers continue to study and predict what Google will be up to next. Here are some industry speculations: Google continues to reach out…Google 411, Google indexing material from books (past and present), and greater numbers of ever improving cloud applications for ecommerce and more.

The prediction of some industry experts is that Google’s domination and loyal following (note that in a recent survey, Bing shows weakness against Google simply because Google usersare happy and see no reason to switch) will be so integrated in so many daily operations that it will be hard for anyone (Microsoft) to challenge it (even when equipped with the Page Rank algorithm).

While onsite and offsite optimization remains a critical part of SEO, there is going to be so many more factors to consider for optimization. It will continue to expand as Google continues its outward reach. Yes, the Internet is still in its infancy and with the guidance of Papa G, it is primed for changes that we can still hardly fathom.

Currently Social Networking is one arena that offers alternative marketing opportunities. These take a lot of energy and commitment on the part of small business owners, and thus the may well be worth outsourcing SMO and well as SEO.