Get Educated » Basics of Getting Search Engine Results on Google

Natural search results mean that your link will show up to users without you having to pay a fee directly to Google. Sponsored results mean that your link will show on sites only if you are paying Google a fee to show your link. The image below shows how sponsored links and natural search links are separated. Users click on both types of results and getting your site listed in either mannor on Google will lead to more traffic on your site.

 

Sponsored Results are in general easy to understand. You create an account on Google for free, set the search phrase or phrases that you would like your site link to appear in the search results of those phrases, and you then pay Google to receive visits from people who search that term. The important question is how many visits will your site get and how much you have to pay Google for that service. The nice thing is that Google will estimate these things before you decide to buy their services.

To get Google's price and traffic estimate, you are asked set two more variables besides the search phrase  that you want to list your site. First, you will enter your web site address so that Google can retrieve the SEO rating it has for your site compared to the phrase that you would like to achieve results on. (This rating comes from strategies that are discussed in the natural search results section below). Next, you will set the maximum amount that you are willing to pay per click. Once you set an amount, Google will then be able to estimate your link location on their search results page for that term and amount, and from that information they will estimate how many hits you will receive and what your monthly cost will be.  Finally, you will be asked to set a maximum monthly budget so you can be sure not to receive an unexpected invoice. 

Basic common sense will apply when are determining  the amount of hits you want versus how much you are willing to pay.

• The more popular your search phrase is, the more competition you will have for that phrase, and the more you must be be willing to pay to attract more visits than your competition.
• Opposite to that, the better your SEO rating is in relation to your search phrase, the less you will have to pay per click compared to your competition to attract more visits than your competition on that phrase. This is because Google sees value in sending users to results which actually meet their expectations. 
  

The most basic explanation of the algorithm is that Google judges your site based on the content on your site, the amount of traffic on your site, the amount of time users stay on your site, and the frequency in which other high rated sites send visitors to your site. The prior sentence over simplifies Google’s method of determining a SEO rating in the same way that you would refer to Hurricane Katrina as “a little bit of rain and a light wind.”  However, the concept stated above should help you understand that achieving natural results on Google requires a strategic plan that integrates web marketing efforts and larger scale marketing efforts as well. 

For more on search engine optimization, we suggest visiting google.com and typing in the phrase “Learn Search Engine Optimization Strategy” and then begin reading what interests you.