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AS WE STATED IN THE “WHAT IS” SECTION …

ORGANIC (UN-PAID) RESULTS = RESULTS PEOPLE TRUST!!!!

WE ARE FIRM BELIEVERS THAT THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEM (SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING … IE ADWORDS, ETC) AND SEO (ORGANIC, UNPAID RESULTS) … WE BELIEVE THAT THE AVERAGE “WEB SEARCHER” KNOWS WHEN SOMEONE IS ADVERTISING TO THEM AND IS BOMBARDED DAILY WITH ADS … AND BECAUSE OF THIS THEY HAVE BEEN SUBCONSCIOUSLY TRAINED TO IGNORE THOSE LINKS!

THE NIELSON NORMAN GROUP HAS DONE WELL DOCUMENTED RESEARCH WITH HUNDREDS OF SUBJECTS ON WEB USABILITY AND HAS ACTUALLY COINED THE TERM BANNER BLINDNESS AS A RESULT OF THEIR FINDINGS …

CHECK OUT THE BELOW EXAMPLE OF AN EYETRACKING “HEATMAP” THAT SHOWS HOW MUCH USERS WEB USERS LOOKED AT DIFFERENT PARTS OF A WEB PAGE. AREAS WHERE USERS LOOKED MOST ARE RED; THE YELLOW AREAS INDICATE FEWER FIXATIONS, FOLLOWED BY THE LEAST VIEWED BLUE AREAS:

SOURCE: “Eyetracking Web Usability”, New Riders Press, December 14, 2009 … ISBN-10: 0-321-49836-4 … http://www.useit.com/eyetracking/

ON THE OTHER HAND, WHEN SOMEONE ENTERS A SEARCH INTO GOOGLE AND GOOGLE SAYS THAT YOU ARE A GOOD RESOURCE BY PLACING YOU WITHIN THE SEARCH RESULTS … USERS ARE FAR MORE INCLINED TO VISIT YOUR SITE … AS OPPOSED TO SCANNING THE OUTER EDGES OF THE PAGE TO FIND WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR!

ITS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOU TOOTING YOUR BUSINESS’S HORN AND SOMEONE ELSE TOOTING YOUR BUSINESS’S HORN … REFERRALS ARE THE ABSOLUTE BEST MARKETING TOOL!!!

AND WHEN YOU HAVE GOOGLE ON YOUR SIDE ITS LIKE HAVING MILLIONS OF FRIENDS REFERRING YOUR BUSINESS DAILY