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Organic Search Yields Healthier ROI

35% of marketers recently surveyed said that organic search optimization efforts led to higher ROI than paid search campaigns, according to a new study by iProspect, a respected authority on search marketing and a WebTrends Insight Network partner. Compare this to only 11% that said paid search produced better results.

Given that paid search marketing (for example, pay-per-click ads with Google and Yahoo!) has dominated the media spotlight during the last two years, the news of the value of organic search listings will come as a surprise to many. Paid search marketing is now a $5 billion industry and represents 40% of all online advertising spend, according to Forrester Research.

With so much money flowing to paid search, one might think that it's the silver bullet of marketing. But web-smart marketers beware. More than 80% of clicks on search engine results pages actually go to organic listings versus paid search ads, according to JupiterResearch.

So what's the winning search strategy? Should you invest in pay-per-click search or search engine optimization? Search marketing experts will tell you the answer for most organizations is both. And your own specific answer lies in measuring the return on investment of each activity and striking the appropriate balance between paid search and organic search engine optimization.