Sometimes in life and business, especially if you are the best seo companies, you have to look yourself in the mirror and decide if what you are doing is working the way you want and expect, or whether the winds of change have adversely affected the landscape and the time has come to adjust or die. For internet marketers and search engine optimizers we are approaching the time when shifting our attention and getting ahead of the curve is critical if we still want to able to justify a solid ROI (return-on-investment). As Google takes and analyzes more and more data every second, and given they are a public company beholden to shareholders, Wall Street SRO’s (self-regulatory organizations) like FINRA, and the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC), we can only expect that they will continue to strengthen and protect their paid search revenues like it makes up 90% of their current profits. Ad Age reports that in Q4 of 2015 Google made, on average, less per ad but increased its total ad revenues by 17% to $19 Billion.
How Do Search Engines Control SEO Results?
Over the last few years Google, Bing and other search engines have made constant changes to their algorithms that organize search results, and Google has gone as far as encrypting the keyword/page(URL) information so no one can understand and analyze the exact relationship and optimize accordingly. During this period, Internet marketers and the public have been consistently told these changes are for the benefit of searchers utilizing their services in an effort to give them the most relevant results to their query.
These regular actions change what sites hit the top results of a particular keyword or phrase, and the encryption protects their advantage and subverts our ability to analyze and optimize for our clients. This directly impacts the company’s return on their advertising investments, and particularly on SEO efficiency.
Is This Good for Jane Q Public?
This is hard to answer because the question is subjective, and the answer will depend on your preferences. When I search for “best Nikon camera,” I like that the results are mostly review aggregators, and sales websites are set in a table at the top of the page. Please notice the product table header that reads, “Shop for top rated nikon camera on Google,” and the “sponsored” text which tells us this is a paid position.
What is clear is if you are selling cameras on Google you must pay to advertise. Best Buy and B&H Photo are two of the largest electronics and technology retailers on the planet and they still need to pay Google to reach the top of this page and search result.
When we search for a “religious occasion photographer” we get a very different result. Here we can see the first few results are organic and point to an actual religious occasion photographer page. On top you find images of religious occasion, and when inspecting closer you find the first image is connected to the top search ranked photographer’s website (www.ritchiehavok.com).
After doing a little due diligence on the search phrase “religious occasion photographer” I find has very low traffic, but seems highly relevant to religious occasion photographers.
Is Pay Per Click Making a Comeback?
Yes! Without question all of the major internet properties that include advertising are charging for ad placement. Many, like Google, have started into other areas of business. The cloud and drones are two of their favorites to talk about, but quadrupling profits is always their prime motive. Even the powerhouse Facebook realized the future of the company ever making money resided in their implementation of paid directed advertising. Or pay-per-click.
Pay Per Click is Google
There can be no doubt that Google remains the arbiter what search engine optimization means, and what kind of results we get when we search for certain terms and phrases. They are the 150-billion-dollar gorilla in the room, and we anticipate they will continue to be centered on their own profits first and foremost! This necessarily means pay-per-click is here to stay, and must be a part of most internet marketing strategies. At Creative SEO and Internet Marketing(https://creativeseomarketing.com) we are constantly re-focusing on how to get the best bang for the buck out of our internet marketing tactics, and never losing site of what the large online advertising outlets are doing to make money for their shareholders.
