Free Search Engine Optimization versus Pay Per Click Internet Marketing

It’s always been surprising to me as an experienced online marketer just how much time and money is spent on paid marketing channels such as pay per click ads but how little time and money is spent gaining free marketing through increasing the organic rankings on the major search engines.

With this in mind, I decided to do some research to determine how much traffic is driven from paid search advertising versus organic search rankings. It may surprise you to learn that 90% of all search engine traffic is driven from the organic listings. So if you’re spending money on paid search traffic and ignoring any effort on organic search traffic, you are missing out.

Below I will outline the top 5 reasons why search engine optimization is a must for any business looking to drive prospective customers to their website.

1)    Search Engines Are the #1 Way People Find Websites

Numerous surveys have shown that search engines are the most popular method used to find websites. More than 80% of Internet users rely on search engines as their preferred method for locating websites.

2)    Improve Your Competitive Edge

Increasing the likelihood of customer finding you online means they are less likely to find your competitors. The faster and easier your products and services can be found, the more likely you will keep your current customers and increase your online market share.

3)    Expand Your Customer Base & Target Audience

Search Engine Optimization makes your site easier to find and locate on the Internet. It improves your ranking, increasing traffic and improves your chances of making sales. By expanding your market online you are exposing your products and services to more motivated and interested customers.

4)    Boost Sales & Increase Your Exposure

Studies show customers are 5 times more likely to purchase your products and services after finding your web site through a Search Engine rather than online advertising. Improved site ranking means an increase in customer visits means an increase in sales opportunities. Search results get the highest conversion rates, turning your website visitors into clients.

5)    Save Time & Money

Search Engine Optimization saves you time and money by utilizing free search engine services to promote your products and services. Once your web site is optimized and it will continue to be crawled and indexed by search engines and is maintained with minimal effort. The more popular your site gets over time, the higher your search engine ranking will become.

Many businesses I have spoken with in the past about Search Engine Optimization were confused and didn’t understand how they could take advantage of this readily available source of traffic that was readily available to send interested prospect to their sites. They saw the search engine ranking strategies as a sort of black box that didn’t have any clarity around ways to work with the engines.

Well, I’ll let you in on a secret. The Search Engines want you to improve your site and rank higher for your best key terms. They’ve built their business on offering the most relevant searches and any business that makes their site readily available as a relevant source of information for their biggest products or services will not only make a friend out of Google but will be rewarded with a steady flow of targeted traffic. Search Engine Optimization isn’t about manipulating searches. It’s about making websites more searchable so that the search engines can find them easier.

In my webinar, I will go over the best techniques and opportunities available to attract the relevant visitors every business seeks online. Not only have I had success getting businesses ranked on search engines, I’ve actually worked at a major search engine (Bing.com) and have a tremendous understanding of what it takes to succeed online. So don’t miss a great source of free information that can make your business.

There are more SEO tips discussed in my webcast called “Why and How Small Businesses Should Be Doing SEO” and you can register at http://smallbusinesswebcast.com to attend.