What did I learn today???

I've hit on this a few times now in past posts but I think I finally have a grasp on it.

SEO vs. SEM - I've had the optimizaiton believers tell me that SEM and PPC stinks because if you ever stop your campaign you've lost everything and are right back where you started... My response, even if that was true, who cares? You made alot of money while you were doing it. Here is an idea. Do some SEM to compliment your organic efforts. When your site is showing up in the first oraganic result for every search imaginable (will never happen) stop your SEM campaign. It doesn't have to be one or the other.

Consider this, if 70% of searchers look at the left side of SERPs and only 30% click on the ads on the right side, why is PPC and SEM Google's cash cow? I've seen all kinds of statistics from 80/20 - 70/30 or even 60/40 in favor of the left (organic) side of the SERPS. Whatever the number, a huge chunk of those organic clicks are informational only, in other words they aren't from buyers. I argue that while the organic side makes up most of the clicks and traffic on SERPs, the right side is where the buyers click. Isn't that what its all about?

Who else would click on ads with titles like, "affordable CPA" or "Discount Purses" if they weren't shopping? Searchers looking for local services or products are just as likely to click on a relevant ad on the right side as they are on the left. The only searchers who WON'T click on the ads on the right - people only looking for information, researching something, etc. People ready to buy click on the right side because they are, ready to buy.

Helpful tool to measure the quality of your site

I'm constantly telling clients that just having a website in 2008 is not enough. The Internet is sooo competitive that you must have a strategy for how you market that website. A website that doesn't show up organically or on sponsored links is nothing more than an on-line brochure. Don't even think that its a marketing tool. You might as well have a billboard in the middle of a corn field.
I found a helpful website that measures the strengths and weaknesses of any website. www.websitegrader.com seems simple enough but its the first site I've found that breaks down page strength, quality of tags, inbound links and more. Take a look at the site and use the competitve site feature which will compare your site to others that are competing for your same customer base.