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Winning the Search Engine Wars -- Paid vs. Organic Traffic

Winning the Search Engine Wars -- Paid vs. Organic Traffic
By Rishiraj Medhi

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is the buzzword and its here to stay. Search marketing has revolutionized online marketing. Emergence of global Search Engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN has triggered the growth of the industry. According to a recent study,


91% of Internet users use search engines.
73% of all online transactions start with search engines.
3.5 billion Websites compete for the top slots (organic traffic), but the reality is that only fractions of a percent reach the first page.

The ultimate objective of any Search Engine Marketing campaign is to increase the visibility of the website. In other words, its way to bring qualified traffic, generate leads and sales. There are two modules to start your Search Marketing Campaign:

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Organic Traffic
2. Paid Advertising – Pay Per Click (PPC)

For Internet Marketer, the biggest dilemma is to choose the best option. Since both the methods have their advantages and disadvantages, it’s recommended to mix your marketing budget as per your business requirements.

Paid Advertising is the fastest way to reach your customer. But you need to pay for every click. If you would like to get traffic and leads within hours, Paid Advertising is the answer. But keep it in mind that it’s quite expensive as Cost per Click (CPC) for keywords is sky rocketing.

Steps for Optimizing your Google Adwords (Paid Advertising) Campaign:

1. Do extensive keyword research- Use tools like wordtracker, keyworddiscovery, nichebot & overture’s suggestions.
2. Select countries where you want to show your ads.
3. Group similar keywords in the same adgroup.
4. Write attractive ad-copies (that triggers high click throughs)
5. Take visitors to highly specific landing page ( not to your homepage)
6. Bid conservatively and win with high CTR, not high bids.
7. Rotate and spilt your ad-copies to monitor performance.
8. Monitor and analyze performance of ads & keywords to optimize Return on Investment (ROI).
9. Delete non converting keywords.

On the other hand, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or natural way to get traffic is a tiresome and time consuming process. It generally takes 4-6 months to optimize your site for certain keywords. The best part of it is that you don’t have to pay for clicks and traffic. It’s completely free. If you are looking for long term traffic, it’s the best answer for you.

Steps for optimizing your website through ethical SEO:

1. Do extensive keyword research- don’t select generic keywords like travel, jobs etc. Try to select specific keywords directly linked to your business.
2. Design a search engine friendly website in terms of navigation structure, keyword density, meta tags etc.
3. Submit your site to human edited directories, ezines, blogs and forums. Try to get quality backlinks from relevant websites.
4. Submit press releases to various PR sites.