Why not just pay per click?

Businesses, now more then ever, are using Google to market their products and services as they realize the abundance of targeted traffic it provides.

This then poses the question: do you optimize your website to appear in Google's natural search listings or do you pay to be placed in the sponsored listings? Which of the two will be a more affordable seo technique?

It can sometimes seem an easy option just to pay for results, but is it really the right decision?

In a recent study, Google found that searches were 72% more likely to click on a natural listing rather then a pay-per-click advert. this shows that although you can pay to get your website seen at the top of Google, it is not as effective as having it appear there naturally.

Searchers look for relevance in the adverts they click on, in the same way that Google looks for relevance in the websites it shows in its natural listings. This is why natural search offers a much greater conversion rate: People know that the natural listings will tend to be more relevant to their search as they cannot be bought, ONLY EARNED.

The main benefit of natural listings is that they are free to earn and maintain. There are no click prices or fees as with pay per click. This is not to say that pey per click is not worth doing, just that natural listings are deemed more relevant and cost-effective.

What is organic SEO?

Organic Search Engine Optimization, or Organic SEO as it is commonly called, is the process of optimizing your website to appear higher in the search engine's natural listings.

A dictionary definition of the word "optimization" is: "An act, process, or methodology of making something (as a design, system, or decision) as fully perfect, functional, or effective as possible; specifically: the mathematical procedures (as finding the maximum of a function) involved in this."

This is exactly what you need to do to your website to give it the prominence in the search engines that it deserves.

Search engine optimization or website optimization involves the optimization of many different parts and, to optimize your website effectively, we will need to look at and optimize each of the following: Keywords, meta data, content, inward links, header tags, alt tags, internal links, website structure, website theme, website code.

Once optimized, websites will stand a much greater chance of being found for their desired keywords. This is, after all, the whole reason for having a website.

There is no charge for appearing in Google's natural search engine listings, unlike other forms

of advertising such as pay per click. This makes organic search engine optimization a very cost-effective method of advertising.