Driving SEO

Web user preferences 'to drive SEO spending'
30/03/2009

SEO spending to rise

Issue Codes Search engine optimisation

Web users increasingly prefer organic search listings to pay per click ads, which is likely to result in a rise in search engine optimisation (SEO) spending, according to one expert.

David Hallerman of eMarketer explained that consumers now view organic results as being more acceptable and relevant for their needs than paid search listings, with natural results getting more clicks as a result.

He added: "Even if optimisation's effects are not as obvious as paid search advertising, SEO delivers longer-term results that support any search marketing campaign."

The comments came after the expert said last month that some companies may need to hire an SEO expert for help with their organic optimisation efforts due to the fact that some aspects of SEO are relatively complex.

Mr Hallerman suggested that SEO is seen as a "black box" practice by some marketers because businesses must work out the algorithms behind search engine rankings.