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A lot of my friends are into organic food.

Myself, I'm just into food. Organic. Synthetic. Gourmet. Ethnic. Raw. Cooked. Healthy. Junk.

Whatever fuels my body and tastes good makes me happy.

But I do prefer organic in one area: search engine results. Organic results are the ones based on the search engine's unique algorithms to best match your search. Organic is the opposite of the ads. And experts say the top of the organic results are the best place for your website to appear -- even over pay-per-click ads.

Last tip I mentioned pay-per-click advertising, a.k.a. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) can cost from a nickel to $100 per click. The pro: you only pay for clicks. The con: click fraud. Target Marketing (June 2005) reports that 15-20% of SEM is prey to click fraud according to Click Defense (http://clickdefense.com). Some are competitors unethically wasting ad budgets. But 70% are websites generating revenue from search engine network partnerships. (More about networks and affiliates next tip.)

Organic rankings aren't prone to click fraud. But they do face other potential scams. Firms providing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) charge sizable fees with slick promises of top rankings -- but no guarantees. Few deliver. And those that do are very pricey.

Is it worth it? It depends on how key SEO is to your overall marketing strategy. How much of your business is driven by customers looking for you vs. you targeting them, building long term relationships and getting referrals?

In most situations, I suggest brand-building over expensive SEM or SEO programs.

Why? Do a little experiment for me....

Google "advertising and marketing speaker" (with quotes) or click:


Which website would you click? Is it because it's #1 or because you recognize the name/brand?

Personally, I'd pass a dozen top sites for a known brand. Wouldn't you?

- Phil Sasso