Paid + Organic Search The Big Winner For Business

Many companies have moved to using the web successfully, but are paying high prices for paid advertisements on Google.  Yet the same companies are nowhere when it comes to earned placement on Google in organic search.

If you are paying for ad campaigns on Google, improving your organic reach too, can multiply the effectiveness of your Pay Per Click ads. So - if you have a budget for paid search, it makes a lot of sense to take the extra step of making the most of the potential for organic search too.

There is ongoing debate on whether paid links get more clicks than organic links on search, the smart business owner will hedge their bets - and make sure if they are already committed to paying for results, that they also have the free clicks covered too. And if you have paid advertisements on Google AND your business comes up in the organic search - that's peace of mind for the customer and means they have more ways to check out your business and feel confident that your business is trustworthy and reliable.

Paying for ads while basic SEO is not done

When I am reviewing websites for clients, it often happens that the website they have been using for some years is missing vital basic code and features that would make the site perform much better. These basic simple changes don't cost or even require a whole remodel of a site, just the insertion of the right information in the right place.  These changes are in the page code and are for Google,  not visible on the page by a user.

Other incremental changes to the layout or content of the website on the page for viewers can also dramatically improve the performance of the website. Together, these small changes can give the business a lot more bang for their advertising buck.

To look at it another way, not fixing these basic issues on the website would be like turning on heaters in all the rooms in the house and then leaving all the doors and windows wide open.  It can warm the house somewhat, but wastes a lot of money for a poorer result than might be achieved with just closing some of the areas that are letting the heat out.


So your website performance can help your business get found by those searching for what you do. That's pulling people in.  Social media on the other hand can push people who were not already looking to see what you have on offer. That Pull + Push element can multiply your traffic to your site again.

Not only does social put your business in front of social contacts you know - it also puts your business in front of people who they know!

Not just what you say but also how you say it

In improving your organic search you will be adding content (which Google loves). You need to have information on the website that informs those searching for what you sell. It should be written in a way that is a match for what customers would search for, makes sense to them, and provides them with useful information to satisfy their query. Your website also needs to have fresh information added regularly so that Google will keep coming back to index the website.  A simple way to keep your website both fresh and relevant is to add a blog.  Authentic reviews or testimonials reinforce your social standing, and this is becoming the new currency of value. You want to be seen as The Authority on what you do. The go-to guy or gal.

Now it is easy to fall for the spiel of the consultants selling advertising online. Your role as the business owner is to ensure that you get the advice that is good for you - not just the advice that is good for the advertising consultant.  With your PPC you want to be paying for the words that you want - and not paying for the words that are not useful to you, as many are. That's a whole other issue though, one for another time.

The internet is such a fantastic tool for business. Use it well, and be successful as you can be!



Related articles

Claim your free business listing on Google ... before someone else does! 
5 tips that will improve your website performance 
Local business: Tips to online marketing 
Getting started with your business blog
Social media help for your business

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Introducing Google Search + Your World

Forget everything you knew or thought you knew about getting your business found online. Today is another day and everything has changed.  While SEO is still important the bar has been raised and if you want to be found then you best start paying attention to building your online presence across platforms and providing quality content targeted to your market.

While websites are still often very poorly constructed and virtually unfindable (and no this isn't just cheap websites - many are expensive very fancy designs and have lots of bells and whistles - just none that  help to get Google placing them well on search), the game has changed forever. If you want your business to be considered relevant - or to stay that way - then you must heed this and begin to do what it takes to be in this new marketplace.

"These days, any business that doesn't have a Web presence isn't taken seriously." - Morgan McKean, a consultant and writer who recommends "green" fashions, beauty products and home décor for women.

Official Word From Google

The Google Blog States: 

"We’re transforming Google into a search engine that understands not only content, but also people and relationships. We began this transformation with Social Search, and today we’re taking another big step in this direction by introducing three new features:

1. Personal Results, which enable you to find information just for you, such as Google+ photos and posts—both your own and those shared specifically with you, that only you will be able to see on your results page; 
2. Profiles in Search, both in autocomplete and results, which enable you to immediately find people you’re close to or might be interested in following; and, 
3. People and Pages, which help you find people profiles and Google+ pages related to a specific topic or area of interest, and enable you to follow them with just a few clicks. Because behind most every query is a community. 

Together, these features combine to create Search plus Your World. Search is simply better with your world in it, and we’re just getting started.'



Here's what some are already saying about this new update from Google...

"Regardless of how you do it this is the only kind of influence that is "future proof". Tech will come and go, searches will come and go, social sites will come and go... but when you have influence and a strong community or "tribe" around you it will allow you to continue to thrive!'

-Kimberly Castleberry more here

"Google+ isn’t the only thing Google does. YouTube, Blogger, Google Docs, Google Reader, etc… Google+ is the glue pulling all that together. Your social profile across all Google properties now have a singular home… Google+. Google+ however is not in the social networking business, they’re in the data business and Google+ is a method of joining all your different web interactions together. With the release of Search plus Your World we’re beginning to see how all if it ties together… and how it’s all related to the one thing Google has always been good at: search." - Paul Spoerry   more here

 See the full lowdown on the Google Blog


Start From Where You Are Now 

There has never been a better reason to review your online marketing. You don't build an online presence across social media platforms and good placement for your website overnight. You need to build that presence and make it get the message out that you want new customers and old to see and reinforce. Make that call today and get started.


See Also:
Check Your Website For Roadworthiness

Think Social Media Is No Use For Your Business? Think Again.

How To Get Your Local Business Noticed Online

Purpose Then Strategy - Case Study Starting Your Website



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