Customers find information about products or services through online search, such as with large search engines like Google and Bing. Businesses that prepare for this interaction between a customer and the information they are seeking can position their product or service within the decision making process of the customer.

There are two primary methods for positioning a business for this interaction.

SEO

Positioning a product or service so customers see a high listing in a search is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Many consider this placement as ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ search, since it is traditionally driven by the content provided by the website. Crafting good content is the primary objective of a good SEO effort.

Well selected keywords written into a website’s content aides a customer’s search for a product or service and helps position the content in search rankings. The higher a content’s ranking in search, the more relevant the information for the consumer.

PPC

Most search companies, such as Google and Bing, monetize their free search by the placement of advertising. Traditionally, this advertising consists of a link, usually a page on the product or service’s website, and keywords used as a hook. This is known as Pay-per-Click (PPC) advertising.

Advertisers craft their message using relevant keywords and compete in a bidding process to advertise on those keywords. Once a customer completes a search on a keyword, the advertiser’s ad appears next to the organic search listing. Seeing the advertisement as a better choice, the customer then engages the advertisement over the organic listings.

The huge advantage to PPC advertising is in the method’s name. Advertisers only pay when a customer clicks on their ad.

Both SEO and PPC efforts are leveraged by BlueRally Marketing.