In view of the fact that Google handles around four million search inquiries every minute and has a market share of close to 90%, it is generally agreed that your marketing needs to show up well in Google searches, ideally on the first page. There are two ways to attempt this, with unpaid and paid search. Yes, there are other search engines, but Google dwarfs them all and should be your first go-to.
The unpaid part (also known as organic search) involves the way your website is seen and analyzed by the Google bots that do this for every single website on the internet. Google uses a complex algorithm (which no one knows and constantly changes) to rate your site’s pages for items like length, readability, relevant keywords, recently added content, and backlinks.
The way that your site appears to these Google bots and the page ranking that results can be improved through a process known as Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO “optimizes” your site so that it shows up in a better position when consumers do a search. Due to the mysterious nature of the Google algorithm, SEO tends to feel like a combination of computer science and black magic, but its basic principles can improve your search results. Digital agencies can usually provide you with SEO services.
Paid search is the PPC that was mentioned in the Google section above. As a supplement to your SEO, PPC ads can generate additional traffic to your site more quickly than SEO alone typically can. Your PPC budget can be tailored to your needs and can be monitored in fine detail. Taken together, unpaid and paid search can supplement each other and produce more robust results. Again, a digital agency can provide you with guidance on setting up and running your PPC program.