When I saw the image below in a ppc training blog post warning lead generation advertisers of what is to come I had to share it with my readers.
I encourage anyone who relies on organic or paid AdWords traffic to make the time to read that excellent post and subscribe to and follow @theppcblog on Twitter.
This image is for all those who still insist that Google has the best search results. I ask you to look at the image below and then answer the question below it.
Do you suppose the income from promoted listings might affect what Google chooses to display above the fold and on most of the first page?
“Are you STILL sure Google provides the best results?”
Almost all of the first page in that example is advertising. While not all searches have that many promoted listings, it is likely that many more will over time. Do you honestly believe money will not affect which results Google shows?
While the blogger who created that image was writing about lead generation, the search it shows is for san francisco dentists – not a business that most would think of when we think about lead generation.
Organic results like those affect many small businesses.
I would love to hear from my readers about every alternative search engine they’re using. Do me a huge favor and leave a comment with a link to any post you like (yours or someone else’s) about alternative search engines or link(s) to the search engines you use.
It is up to us to find the best search engines and share that information with our friends, family, co-workers, readers and followers.
{ 67 comments… read them below or add one }
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Twitter: allaboutmexican
July 23, 2012 at 11:37 pm
going organic is such a good things..it starts you from the core and to the nitty gritty
I think Google never focus on paid listing of any kind. Because paid listing doesn’t remain for a long and you can’t get stable ranking.
Twitter: matthewacoleman
March 19, 2012 at 3:29 am
it’s good to know about organic and other alternative ways..it gives us a choice and freedom do what is best for us
Google is completely taking over their search results with their own products. You would think more people would use other search engines, but they don’t realize that Google doesn’t give the best results.
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Google has such a monopoly on the search engine market and at the end of the day they are a business that want to make money so they will make their webpages how they like to make the maximum amount of revenue. Organic results are always better in my opinion though, better conversion rates and some people always avoid paid results.
This trend is gaining traction for one primary reason; that the top organic listings are perceived as being the most popular sites for the relevant keywords carrying potentially millions of quasi third party endorsements as opposed to paid ads placed by the online businesses themselves.
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I would say at least for now most of the keywords are too expensive to bid on
james would love you to read ..National Auto Salvage
This a an insightful post,Google, like any other business is simply trying to milk the most money out of it’s users as possible, and they will do whatever it takes to make this happen.
Twitter: GrowMap
January 16, 2012 at 10:57 pm
Hi Nathan,
If that was the real goal of Google I would not mind it nearly as much as I do. Have you seen my post with all the Google is Evil Evidence?
growmap would love you to read ..Every worthwhile Small Business IS doing important work – How YOURS could go viral #smbiz
Twitter: SamReynoldsTR
December 26, 2011 at 7:06 pm
Yes google does skew it’s results, but so what? It’s their business. They can show whatever listings they please. I think people need to move away from the perception, google owes me something….it doesn’t. If you want to grow your business, find alternatives to google if you are not happy!
Twitter: GrowMap
December 27, 2011 at 8:52 pm
Google has intentionally mislead the public into believing they provide the best results through their influence over major media. They now have a monopoly over both paid and free search and control what the masses see or don’t see. If you don’t see that as dangerous then you’re just them – corrupt to the core.
I have done nothing but work on finding alternatives to the traffic Google first gave and then took away and there is NO other source that is as targeted or as effective as search which means users have handed Google the power to decide which businesses survive and which ones to crush.
I agree that all Internet users and businesses need to find alternatives to Google because Google is truly evil. They are being investigated for unfair competition and there are many posts now about Google’s biased results.
You can watch excerpts of the Google Senate anti-trust hearings where evidence was presented proving that Google favors their own results over all others.
Right now you are defending them, but when your turn comes – and believe me it will – and Google favors big brands over you – and you lose more and more of your traffic because of it like the many small businesses that have already lost 35-50+% of theirs – then you may then change your mind.
growmap would love you to read ..Quantity Equals Failure. Success Focuses on Quality!
Yep, Google kind of takes control of things – but they also control search with the majority of people using it. PPC is a good option though – thanks for posting this.
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Twitter: GrowMap
December 18, 2011 at 12:30 pm
PPC is a great option if you’re Google. It originally was an excellent option for small businesses when they first offered it, but with each passing year it becomes less beneficial and more dangerous. See my posts about AdWords here:
PAY PER CLICK ADVERTISING:
How Not to Lose Your Shirt on PPC Advertising
Step-by-step Method for Evaluating Your AdWords Account – what settings to use and why
growmap would love you to read ..Google Personalized Search Results: Blinkers On? How to Remove Them by Getting UNPersonalized.
Twitter: iphonealley
November 18, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Great post! getting organics is very importanb.
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Twitter: hamzahqutub89
November 15, 2011 at 3:03 pm
I’ve seen this image before also.In the book “Art of SEO” authors have given a similar kind of image .But they also explained why organic SEO is better than paid listing.Many studies have shown that majority of searchers can differentiate between the paid listing and organic listing.It simply means that SEO is important now also and the same will be the case in near future.And the answer to your question is that we must not forget the purpose of Google.They have only one goal in mind to make rules ,bend rules when ever it suites them and make as much money as possible for themselves.Recent Panda update has proved this Google has punished almost all the sites which were in one way or another way a competitor to their information providing business and as dust settled most people realized that this update is going to serve only one purpose”Google will be more profitable than before”.
I think that Bing and Yahoo have more realistic organic results. Google just seems skewed to listing services. Obviously, Google definitely controls its search results with its own products.
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i need to disapprove Malcolm, google adwords isn’t influencing SERP in any ways.. and as for your question, i still find google to be the best search engine yet..
Twitter: GrowMap
December 18, 2011 at 12:32 pm
Hi Bogdan,
I have only one question for you. How do you KNOW that? Because Google says so? Did you TEST to PROVE that was true or are you just one of those people who lets Google and the major media tell you what to think?
growmap would love you to read ..Amazon: The Wal-Mart of the Internet
Google has refined the way they place results many times this year already. They are heavily supporting user experience more than ever before so spam blogs are history!
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Twitter: GrowMap
December 18, 2011 at 12:35 pm
That is a ridiculous comment. They are ranking scraped content over the original version and their results are still filled with MFA (made for AdSense) sites full of spun content and ads. It is sad that so many people just believe whatever they hear instead of actually using their minds evaluate for the truth.
growmap would love you to read ..For Bloggers Who Hate Comment Spam
till today, i truly dont understand what Google has been doing on organic search… they are truly evil, they want us to work our ass off onto be the first page….
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