It's a fact: Internet users simply will not click through pages and pages of search results to find the information, products or services they need.

A recent Georgia Tech survey revealed that, whilst more than 80% of all Internet users find new websites through search engines, very few of those users are prepared to venture past page one.

The university's findings are echoed in a 2008 study by JupiterResearch, which concluded that 68% of people would rather try another search if they didn't find what they were looking for on the first page of results.

And by iProspect, whose survey that same year found that 92% of web users either clicked a link – or abandoned their search – on or before page three.

The case for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is clear.

Optimising a website, to ensure it achieves the highest possible rankings, gives website owners a real competitive edge – helping them to raise their business' profile. And slash their online marketing costs.

No surprise then that, according to eConsultancy, the SEO market in the UK grew by 14% during 2009, to a value of £376 million – with the total market for Search Engine Marketing (i.e.: SEO and Pay Per Click combined) exceeding a staggering £3 billion.

Given all this, you can be confident: your competitors are investing heavily in SEO. And you should too.

SEO? PPC? What's the difference..?

In an industry beset with TLAs (three letter acronyms!), it's all too easy to become confused. So, to clarify:

PPC (Pay Per Click) ads, or 'Sponsored Links',

are featured at the top, and to the right, of the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

As the name suggests, these listings are paid for.

The remaining listings – which account for the bulk of the listings on the page - are known as organic (or 'natural') listings.

These listings are free – hence the attraction of SEO.

So: which is better – PPC or SEO?

The answer, of course, is: both have a part to play. Whilst paying per click enables you to generate web traffic right away, SEO is a slower process. But it's well worthwhile in the longer term.

Not least because organic listings tend to deliver more visitors.

According to Tamar's 2008 Search Attitudes Report, 91% of web-users prefer using natural search results when looking to buy a product or service online. And, to paraphrase Mark Knopfler: them clicks are free!

In reality, the two disciplines complement one another. It is widely believed that having both a paid and natural link on a given results page increases the likelihood of the web- user clicking the natural link.

Moreover, Pay Per Click bid values (the amount the company is prepared to pay for a click) are determined in large part by the destination page's 'quality score' – meaning an optimised page is likely to attract a lower cost per click.

SEO is much more complex than paid search (which is little more than a sophisticated form of media buying). And it's a longer-term strategy: you're unlikely to achieve top rankings, for your chosen key words and phrases, overnight.

If at all. Google alone utilises more than 200 'ranking factors', of varying importance, to determine a site's prominence. But its underlying algorithm – like that of the other search engines - remains a closely guarded secret. Thus SEO remains a combination of educated guesswork – and experimentation.

We do however know - beyond doubt – the three factors that will enhance your site's SERP rankings above all others.

These are:

• the relevance and timeliness of your content,

• the quality of your underlying code, and

• the volume and 'authority' of your inbound links

All three topics are addressed, in detail, in Steve’s free-to-download White Paper: "Search Engine Organisation - Helping your business to achieve top billing in the leading search engines' results pages."

To download your copy – without charge or obligation – visit the Download Centre at www.articlesandebooks.com.