Google expert Vanessa Fox

Vanessa Fox on Search:

These days, your search strategy is your business strategy, whether you realise it or not, because that’s how potential customers are trying to find you. Search is the new Yellow Pages…

That was  from her book, Marketing in the Age of Google.

It goes without saying that Vanessa is right. Ask yourself how often you rush to the Internet to look up a product or service you’re interested in. How often have you seen someone pause to look something up on their mobile phone browser before buying? How often have you done that yourself? Yet there are still business owners who look at us (SEOs) as if we’re deranged when we say that you can no longer have a marketing campaign that doesn’t include SEO and a social networking strategy.

Search is Changing

The shear volume of search queries is increasing exponentially as everyone discovers the benefits of researching and buying online. In fact search grew by 46 percent in 2009 alone, according to Comscore.com, and while the results are not out yet, it looks as if that trend continued in 2010. And the new boy on the block, mobile search, is set to capture our hearts, having grown by a breathtaking 400 percent-plus during 2010. This means that almost every person who might be looking for what you or I have to offer is likely to want to find us through a search engine.

It is a business-owner’s prerogative to opt out of the search marketing game, but if you choose that route you do so at your own peril.

Opting out of the trend could mean you’re opting out of your business!

If you’re not taking your SEO strategy seriously, you are literally endangering your business, because other savvy business-owners, your competition, well they’re not slacking. They’re doing everything they can to remain at the top of their game and that includes hiring an SEO consultant, or at the very least a PPC expert.

Opting to stay with paid search is an answer for some businesses, but in the business we look at each other and ask ‘for how long?’ Statistics show that paid search does not pay off at anywhere near the rate of organic search. What this means is that for the most part, an organic ranking will do more good for your business in the long term than a paid listing will. And this will only become more true with the passage of time, if trends continue.

Vanessa also says:

Searchers are typing longer queries that trigger fewer paid search matches, and they are increasingly recognising the difference between organic and paid results…

This is a statement that could influence your whole online strategy, if you’d let it. It means that with the right tracking, and with a little understanding of keyphrases, and a few judicious tweaks to your website, you could easily come to dominate your market online.

So now you know: if you haven’t been working at improving your organic ranking, then maybe it’s time you did.