Google’s algorithm changes over the past 2-3 years are making it harder to directly influence search engine rankings.  Factors such as the Google ‘trust’ factor (which gives preference to older domain names) are impossible to influence, leaving many businesses with sub-optimal organic rankings.

With many businesses being disgruntled with SEO results there is an ever-increasing trend (as Google had hoped) towards paying for search positions.

Yes, with pay-per-click advertising you need to continually spend to get a result.  However, these 7 key reasons may have you reconsidering your marketing mix to include pay-per-click advertising.


1. Paid Clicks are from Hungry Customers

Common sense suggests that people clicking organically are early in the buying cycle, whereas those clicking on paid ads are more ready to make a purchase.  Paid ads often contain special offers, discounts, pricing examples, and are directly targeted towards what the searcher is looking for.  E.g. see the compelling offers that appear when ‘carpet cleaning’ is searched on Google – '3 Rooms for $65', '10% off' etc. Compare this to the first 4 organic listings which have minimal marketing appeal.

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2. Search Engines have Shareholders

Organic results are being bumped down the list in favour of paid ads, in an attempt to maintain share prices of the search engines.  Ads can now include a business location and links to other pages within the website (see examples below).  As a result, the paid ads are getting clicked on more than ever before because searchers don’t like having to scroll.

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3. Organic = Watching Grass Grow

It can be frustrating watching and waiting for your website to improve organically.  No one knows how high it will reach and how fast it will get there.

Pay-per-click advertising gives immediate visibility.  Ads can be shown to a searcher in a specific location for a specific keyword, within as little as 10 minutes.  This sure beats sitting around hoping/praying for your website to improve organically.


4. Pay-per-Click Covers 1,000’s of keywords

It is difficult to get a website ranking organically in the top 3 for 100’s of popular keywords without the website having literally hundreds or thousands of pages.  Many older websites will rank well under a select few popular keywords but they could be missing out on customers who search for variations of these keywords.  Pay-per-click lets you actively pursue all keyword variations, without having to write additional content!
5. Greater Control

The description used in organic search results will be the meta description of the relevant page, or in some instances, an extract of text from the page.  Whilst you can alter the meta description, it isn’t guaranteed that this will be displayed, and any changes that you make won’t be reflected until the search engine re-crawls your website (which could be hours or months – no one knows exactly). By comparison pay-per-click ads can be changed almost instantly and are reflected generally within 10 minutes online.


6. Make use of Landing Pages

1-page websites, also known as ‘Landing Pages’ or ‘Squeeze Pages’, are renowned for having higher conversion rates than full websites.  Landing pages work well for businesses whose customers are making a time-sensitive decision (e.g. pest control), the customer can get the same or a similar service elsewhere (e.g. mortgage broking), and credibility can be quickly conveyed in a few key bullet points.

1-Page websites generally don’t rank well organically in competitive areas due to the website having insufficient content.  However, pay-per-click advertising can have these pages ranking high in any keyword category, and driving quality targeted traffic that converts into leads.  It is not uncommon for a good landing page and pay-per-click campaign to convert 25% of visitors into leads.

These statistics are from a test comparing the conversion rate of a full website (SEO Landing Page) with a 1-Page PPC Landing page –

	Conversion Rate
SEO Landing Page	15.1%
PPC Landing Page	26.9%

7. You Control your Rankings

By bidding on keywords you can control your rankings with pay-per-click advertising.  Note however that your bid is only one of a number of factors search engines look at when determining how much you pay per click.  A good quality landing page with relevant keywords will help keep your click costs to a minimum.

Every business owner should be aware of a recent change in Google’s search results.

Over the past few weeks many businesses have noticed a change in their search engine rankings. Google is now using a mode of advertising called ‘Google Places’ to influence the way searchers find information about local businesses.

What has changed?
You will notice the following 6 major changes on Google when you search for something by location (e.g. ‘mechanic Perth’)

1. The organic search results and the Google Places listings are now combined, displaying the phone number and street address of businesses beneath their organic listings.
2. Businesses that once ranked well in the organic search results but did not have a Google Places listing are now positioned towards the bottom of the page, and will generate minimal traffic.
3. The map that once appeared on the left hand side of the screen above the organic search results is now often on the right hand side, just above the paid ads – this makes the organic search results appear higher on the page and gives increased prominence to the paid ads.
4. Businesses that once had multiple keyword focused Google Map listings are now confined to just one ‘Google Places’ listing for their business – this makes it harder (but not impossible) to rank in the map section for a broad variety of keywords.
5. A preview of each website in the organic search results can be seen by clicking the magnifying glass – this means searchers may make decisions to access websites based on a snapshot of your Home page, hence the importance of an aesthetically pleasing website.
6. Directories of local businesses are being out-muscled by the individual businesses themselves, as Google is giving more power to the individual business to control its information on Google.

What are the major ranking factors for Google Places?
You need to ensure the following factors are addressed to maximise the probability of your Google Places listing ranking well –

• Completeness – bulking out your listing with opening hours, payment methods, photos, videos, an accurate description, and coupons, will help give your listing more weight.
• Accuracy – Google will verify the accuracy of your listing against other sources on the web (e.g. White Pages), so ensure your business name, address and phone number are accurate. 
• Reviews – ask your customers to rate your business and write a review about their experience in dealing with you, as Google Place listings with more reviews (not necessarily better reviews) will tend to rank higher.
• Citations – being listed on prominent industry-specific directories can add additional weight (e.g. association websites) as it helps confirm how established your business is based on the number and quality of these references.

This article provides a more detailed description of each factor

The next step...to ensure your Google Places listing is properly optimised
PositionMEonline has launched a new service called Google Places Optimisation (GPO) in which we:

• Claim your Google Places listing on Google (if it hasn’t been already)
• Ensure the information on your listing is complete & accurate – i.e. we bulk out your listing
• Add up to 10 images and 5 videos to your listing
• Provide you with a 1-page step-by-step instruction manual for getting customers to review your business on Google Places

The service is $195+GST once-off – probably the best money you will spend on your Google rankings ever. To have our team optimise your Google Places listing, simply reply to this email with ‘Yes please proceed’ and we will arrange this for your business.

Or Save Yourself $195 and write us a review!
If you would like the Google Places Optimisation (GPO) service for your business but would rather not pay for it, simply write us a review! To do this click on this link and review our Web Marketing services then find the link called ‘Sign in to rate’. You will need your Google Account login details (if you haven’t got a Google account you can click on ‘Create an account now’ and create one in less than a minute).

Google has just rolled out one of the greatest advancements in search techology in a number of years.  It's called 'Google Instant', and will revolutionise the way we search for and find information online.

What is Google Instant?
Google Instant is a new search technology that causes Google search results to be displayed on screen in real-time as the searcher is typing their search phrase.  As each word of the search phrase is typed, the search results change to display results relevant to that phrase.

How will this impact the search experience?
Google claims this will save the average searcher between 2 and 5 seconds for every search.  When you consider how many searches are being performed on a daily basis, this is a massive productivity gain globally!

This new search experience has the potential to alter searcher behaviour as they refine their search phrase. 

Consider a normal search for "BMW speaker E46 replacement" - when you type this into the search bar and click Enter this would take you directly to the relevant search results for this phrase.

With Google Instant the results will be different.  When you type in "BMW" you will most likely see www.bmw.com.au listed in the search results, then as you add "speaker" to make the phrase "BMW speaker" you may see search results for new and used speakers, or even about spokepeople from BMW.

Will our behaviour change as a result of Google Instant?
Most likely it will.  In the example above, the searcher may be tempted to visit the BMW website, or even buy a whole new set of speakers for their car through a website that appeared when they had only typed the first part of the phrase.

What about Google AdWords?
The same applies for Google AdWords - the ads will dynamically change as the searcher is typing.

What impact with Google Instant have on SEO?
Greater importance will need to be placed on ranking for generic phrases.  A website that specialises in replacement speakers for BMW's will need to also optimise for 'BMW speakers' or similar to ensure their website gets is visible as searchers start off with a broad search phrase and narrow it down with additional keywords.  As a result, websites will become even more reliant on their Link Popularity as it can be tough to rank for generic phrases in competitive industries.

We also anticipate that this will further decrease the likelihood of searchers going to page 2 and beyond to find what they are looking for.  Instead, they will alter their search phrase and see the results change dynamically before their eyes - without the need to even move their mouse!

When will it be rolled out in Australia?
Google Instant is currently being rolled out in the US and is anticipated to hit Australian shores before the end of the year.

Yet another amazing advancement from the search industry leaders!

Watch this video to see Google Instant in action!

Last time you did a search on Google there is a 94% chance that you clicked on the 'organic' search results (the left hand side of the search results page), according to a US Study*.  This means 6% or thereabouts of searchers are clicking on the 'Sponsored Links' or the 'paid' section of search engines.

This same study revealed that despite the large volumes of traffic clicking on the organic search results, businesses were still likely to spend at least 3 times as must on their paid positions as opposed to optimising their website to rank high in the organic search results.

Madness?  Well not quite.

Paid search programs such as Google AdWords offer business owners an immediate traffic solution - within 30 minutes of activating your campaigns, your ads are visible in the 'Sponsored Links' section of search results.  Search Engine Optimisation does not offer you quite the same immediacy or control, but once done correctly, the traffic is free.

Consider these benefits of having your website optimised effectively:

• Clicks are free
• No fighting the ever increasing click costs (our clients have seen an average increase of around 20% in click costs in 2008)
• Increased brand recognition - higher ranking websites achieve greater brand awareness
• You aren't limited to a defined number of keywords - your website has the potential to be found for hundreds of derivatives (we have a client in Melbourne with an optimised 14 page website that had their website found for over 850 keyword variations in a standard 30 day period)

Paid search programs such as Google AdWords offer you the immediacy you may require to test-market or get those crucial sales through the door.  However, if you are looking for a long-term cost-effective solution that delivers a strong return on investment, it is hard to ignore the need of having your website ranking high in the organic search results.

» Call or email one of our consultants today about for an analysis of the potential costs and cost savings that are available through our search engine optimisation services.