When it comes to search engine results, a site's natural ranking is of utmost importance. The higher a site ranks naturally, the more beneficial it is to achieve leads, sales, increased profits, and ultimate success.

While achieving a high organic/natural ranking is free, it demands excellent content, effective SEO strategies, and time.

On the flip side, paid advertisements promise immediate placement on the coveted first page, sometimes within the same day. However, the expense involved can be steep, leading to wasted ad spend if not managed wisely.

A common question is whether paid advertisements are really superior in terms of results and conversion (do they offer a good return on investment).

Organic Results Outperform Paid Ads

Several studies indicate that free, natural search results often outperform paid ads considerably. For some reason, users seem to value natural search results more than the sponsored ads that appear above them.

According to numerous industry experts:

• Over 80% of all users find their information via search engines versus directly going to a site
• Nearly 70% of clicks on Google searches are to the first 5 organic results versus paid ads
• Natural search results are chosen about 8.5 times over paid ads
• Depending on the research, paid ads only receive 6-15% of clicks from paid search results

Given the substantial evidence favoring natural search results as the superior choice for generating new leads, one might wonder why they should even contemplate using sponsored ads.

Paid Ads Could Enhance Organic Listings

Although the statistics underscore the significance of organic SEO, it doesn't imply that all expenditure on sponsored advertising should be discontinued. In fact, sponsored advertising could supplement and aid natural results. The idea is that a sponsored ad, coupled with natural results, may make the business stand out and appear more credible and authoritative.

From this standpoint, if a business leverages paid advertising (and also employs effective SEO strategies to secure top natural results in the same search query), the sponsored ad that shows up in the same search result as the natural results could:

• prompt a consumer to perceive the business as an expert;
• select the company with both a sponsored ad AND natural listing;
• versus the competitor with only a sponsored result or only a natural result.

Adherence to proper website SEO is crucial to attain natural first-page ranking in search results, let alone top five search results.

While the bulk of efforts should favor organic SEO to secure top ranking, it doesn't mean other approaches should be disregarded.

Striking a Balance Between Natural Results & Sponsored Ads

It seems plausible to assert that companies that excel in both sponsored and natural results are likely to secure more leads compared to those who only appear in natural or only in sponsored ads.

Furthermore, as natural ranking is a continuous process that demands proper SEO and time to secure natural first-page ranking, new or emerging businesses might want to use some sponsored ads for immediate sales.

Ideally a balance should be achieved whereby:

• most of the time is devoted to a website’s natural ranking and SEO,
• complemented with a reasonable budget for sponsored advertising to support and enhance the natural rankings,
• which can in turn boost the site's overall authority.

Concentrating Efforts On Website SEO

In all forms of online marketing and advertising, the company’s website should serve as the primary hub for all information and marketing activities.

By designating the website as the primary hub, the overall SEO of the website is inherently improved through incoming link authority.

To secure top organic ranking, the website must be:

• the primary focus of all online and offline activities;
• it must serve as a central hub for all things related to the company and marketing;
• including social media networks, and other sales channels.

By directing all channels to a company's website as the central hub, the site's overall SEO will be enhanced, thereby increasing its ranking in the natural listings.

Summary

While sponsored advertising can be beneficial (for instance, new businesses seeking immediate exposure), a balanced focus between natural/organic SEO and sponsored ads should be the ultimate objective for any company.

Paid ad campaigns should supplement, and help support organic content and search result listings.

All external efforts (including sponsored ads, social media networks, and other external platforms) should link to and support the main website hub. These efforts will enhance the website's goal as the main hub to secure top natural ranking in searches.