Many people don’t even realize that a web user is offered two different types of search results each time they use their favored search engine, but they are.

The two types of search results offered every single time a search is undertaken on a search engine like Google, for example, are called organic and paid. The results that are shown for each search type are calculated in different ways. Advertisers need to adopt different marketing strategies to improve the rank of their search listings for each one and these marketing strategies do not have notable effects upon the rank of the search listings for the other. A common misconception is that using strategies for improving organic page listings will improve paid listings too and vice versa. This is simply not true and the difference must be clearly understood if attempting to embark upon an online advertising campaign.

Organic Search Listings

It is possible to read many articles on the internet that contain sure fire ways of improving the listing of your website in a Google search through such techniques as keyword rich articles, hyper-linking or by updating content on a regular basis.

Whilst these techniques do go some way towards improving the listing of a given website in an organic search, it cannot be assumed as a rule of thumb that the website will then remain high in the listing of a search engine like Google for long. This is because search engines, like Google, work in a far more complicated way than the scenario just described. Indeed, the results of organic search listings can sometimes be inexplicable.

Differences Between Google Ads (PPC) and Organic Search Listings

However, what is even more important is that these techniques, while in some ways useful for organic search results, are almost irrelevant when it comes to the subject of PPC Advertising, or what is also known as paid search listings (excluding perhaps the importance of keyword usage).

But the question is…… why?

The answer is quite simple…… the organic search listings, ordinarily found on the left hand side of the screen in a Google search are free listings; nobody is paying any money to have their site advertised. Whereas the paid search listings, generally found to the right (although sometimes placed above the organic listings too) are labelled “sponsored links” and are PPC advertisements. Somebody is paying Google to display these advertisements on the web to potential clients / buyers on a regular basis.

Paid Advertising: Google Ads Campaigns

Google’s PPC Advertising platform is called Google Adwords. One of the main reasons behind its success is the fact that only web users who Google recognises as being interested in the website/product on offer are shown the advertisement in the hope that a conversion will occur.

Therefore, instead of advertisers spending large sums of money on print advertisements that are going to be seen by huge numbers of people who simply aren’t interested, Google is programmed to show specific advertisements to specific web users when they enter certain keywords into a Google search. (Hence the reason why keywords are still important to consider even for paid advertising or PPC Advertising).

When a user enters a keyword or keyword phrase into the Google search engine, Google displays a long list of organic matches by collating information at speed from all the pages available on the web. However, it also displays a number of relevant sponsored advertisements / PPC advertisements at the same time. If a user then clicks on the advertisement, Google charges the advertiser a pre-determined amount; hence the name: PPC (Pay Per Click). Instead of using techniques such as updating website content regularly and developing a network of hyper-links to and from your website, PPC Advertising makes use of tools such as Google Analytics and optimization techniques to ensure that advertisements are shown at the appropriate times and in the appropriate places on a Google search listings page.

Beginning a PPC Advertising Campaign

Clearly, the topic of PPC Advertising versus the use of the organic listings approach to networking and publicity is an extremely complex subject and not at all possible to cover in one article.

However, what is important is to be clear on is that the techniques employed by web users to improve their page rankings on Google through organic search are not effective techniques to employ when working on a paid advertising campaign. If you have little experience in managing paid advertising campaigns, it is best to seek advice from professional third parties.

Webrageous Studios are very experienced in PPC Advertising and all of their Account Managers are Google Adwords trained. If considering a paid search campaign through Google in the attempt to improve the flow of traffic to your site or to sell more products, Webrageous Studios should be your first stop on the road to success.