Over the past few years, search has become an essential aspect of the online marketing mix. Both organic search engine optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) strategies can be utilized to deliver diverse results. For example, PPC may contribute to long-term branding efforts, but it’s also a recurring cost. SEO, on the other hand, provides more lasting results and measurable ROI. But, it’s also a long-term investment that requires ongoing attention and maintenance. So how do you decide if you should focus your online marketing budget on PPC or SEO? Ideally, you should incorporate both to create a more well-rounded web presence, but in many cases, this isn’t essential or doesn’t make sense. In this article, I’ll explain how to decide which strategy to utilize. Of course, this decision depends largely on your budget and goals. More importantly, on the other hand, it depends on your target market and user behavior. Consider this: According to the November 2007 issue of BtoB Magazine, approximately 80% of all web traffic now begins with a search engine. As you can see, if you have yet to begin any SEO efforts, you’ll severely restrict the amount of traffic your site receives because you’ll be invisible in the results. There is no doubt that your online lead generation efforts will be unsuccessful if searchers can’t find you. In an online atmosphere, visibility is the forerunner to communication and engagement, which lead to conversion and then retention. You may be wondering: Is there a connection between where a website appears in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) and the volume of traffic it receives? Of course there is. In fact, this correlation is direct, and its implications are more far reaching than you might expect. Studies conducted by BtoB Magazine indicate that second or even third page rankings can increase website traffic volume by up to nine times! If a site appears in the Top Ten, or has first page listings, it can mean an additional sixfold increase in traffic! If you want to learn more about Search Engine Optimization or SEO, read through the following articles: Website Inspectors – How Can They Improve SEO Rankings, SEO Features, Economical SEO