Successful Search Engine Positioning
Google™ Search Engine
Google continues to have the largest market share of searches at 46.2% according to Search Engine Watch article on Nielsen Net Ratings Search Engine Ratings.
Google ™ Search
Let's assume a search for "call accounting software" is performed on google. The search results are displayed in the snapshot above.
Sponsored listings
Sponsored listings appear at the top in a blue bar and down the right hand side of the page. These listings are Google Adword Pay per Click, which is a program that displays your ad for selected "keyword phrases" for a nominal one-time activation fee. You then pay whenever your ad is clicked. Cost per clicks rates can start low but depending on competition, the size of your campaign, and popularity of your keyword phrases, pay per click programs can become costly. They should be managed carefully.
Results
Google displays the first 10 results for "call accounting software", starting with the most relevant site from a total of 27,200,200 pages listed. Search engines don't always get it exactly right, but considering the incredibly huge task they generally do a pretty good job.
Results 1 - 10 of about 27,500,000 for
call accounting software. (0.08 seconds)
Organic Listings
Are commonly referred to as the "unpaid listings" displayed in the main body, directly underneath the blue shaded sponsored listings. Search engine users continue to favour the "organic search" over paid listings. Mixing commercial listings with the organic search results has been debated and programs that do that, but the major players remain cautious as it can potentially affect their market share.
Our client Hansen Software is currently ranked #1 for call accounting software. Nov.14, 2005
In general, most major search engines contain an "unpaid or organic listing section" and a section for paying customers. At GetOnSearchEngines we recommend not putting all your eggs in one basket be it search engines, directories, pay for inclusion, pay per click, organic search or even media type. Should a particular search engine undergo a substantial change (this has occurred on more than one occasion) your site positioning declines or may be completely dropped. By diversifying, you will still maintain a portion of your website traffic through your other methods of promotion.