Google

Let's face it - everyone wants to be in Google. What a lot of people don't understand is that there is more than one way to get to the top of the pack, and depending on your needs, you may be missing out on a very real opportunity.

In this posting I will provide s ome basic information about both Google "Organic" listings (the free ones) and Google "AdWords" listings (the paid ones).

Firstly, the key differences:

• "Organic" - These are the free listings where results are ranked solely according to relevance. Performing well in the organic results takes time and skill. In a competitive area this often requires the skills of an experienced search engine expert.
• "AdWords" (or pay-per-click) - These are the paid listings that appear under 'sponsored links' or in a yellow box on search results pages. With this approach, a site owner nominates a series of keywords and then 'bids' for how much they are willing to pay for each site visitor attracted by their listing.

The big question is - which avenue is going to serve your business best? The answer to this question can be complex and will depend on your exact needs. It may also change as the traffic to your site develops. Let's look at this from a few directions.

How fast will traffic arrive?
Organic traffic can take anything from a few days to many months to make a real impact. If you are in a very competitive space (travel, finance, etc) you will be competing for the attention of Google with hundreds or thousands of equally motivated businesses around Australia. Success is not guaranteed and if it does happen it will take time and skill. How quickly do you need traffic?

By comparison, an AdWords campaign can be setup in a matter of minutes and your listing can appear right at the top of the page from day one.

How much will I spend?
Google do not charge anything for an organic listing. You will possibly spend money on a search engine consultant to get the best results but the listing itself is free.

On the other hand, the cost of AdWords can vary massively according to your keywords and the page position desired. You could pay anything from a few cents to many dollars each time someone clicks on your listing. Google offers some great tools to control your daily spend and ensure things do not get out of control.

Which approach brings more traffic?
The percentage of users clicking on AdWords listings is on the increase. However, Organic listings still attract the majority of traffic (somewhere between 60% - 80%).

What will work for my business?
What will work best will depend on your site and what you need it to do. Both approaches have strengths and weaknesses. For most Australian websites, good organic results can be achieved given time, discipline and an appropriate long-term strategy. For many sites this does not have to include expert assistance (particularly if your site is extremely search engine friendly like the ones we build here at The Web Showroom). On the other hand while you are waiting for Organic success an AdWords listing can start driving traffic to your site from day one.

I will leave you with an interesting point that was made at a recent conference. It was suggested that when a website appears in both Organic and AdWords results (on any given keyword) the website is more than twice as likely to receive a click on that keyword. Often, people using Google for search have a preference for either the Organic or AdWords listings and as such it can be effective to present them with both options. In addition, the more your business appears on results pages for your keywords the higher the chance you will benefit.