Exhibit 27.1 Organic and Paid (Sponsored) links on a SERP.
Though the term Search Marketing increasingly refers only to paid search,
I prefer the original definition that encompassed both organic and paid processes of attracting search traffic.
These two fundament approaches to improving your rank on search engine results page (SERP) are the subject of
this chapter.
Paid search marketing falls under the purview of Search Advertising. These ads are sponsored links
that appear at the top, bottom or alongside SERP.
The process of organically drawing traffic to your online properties is called Search engine
optimization (SEO). It encompasses the technical and creative approaches to attracting traffic by:
- Improving SERP rankings,
- Seeking your prospects’ attention,
- Helping search engines comprehend the topic of your webpages, and
- Making it easier for crawlers to find your webpages.
Exhibit 27.1 illustrates the organic and paid link on a SERP. Notice that the sponsored
links are at the top, and can be distinguished by the “Ad” box that prefixes the URL. Similarly, ads are placed
at the bottom of SERP; that, though, is not visible in the exhibit.
