Why market your website with search engines?

Several studies have shown that a high percentage of surfers find sites that they like by visiting search engines. Below, you can see a recent study which shows how users on the Internet locate new websites.

This chart shows the choices users were given:
SE:	Internet search engines (e.g., Alta Vista, Lycos, etc.);
Links:	Follow hyperlinks from other Web pages;
Friends:	Friends; Print: Magazines/newspapers;
Dir:	Internet directories (e.g., Yahoo, McKinley, etc.);
Sigs:	Signatures at end of email messages;
TV:	Television advertisements;
Usenet:	Usenet newsgroups;
Other:	Other Sources;
Books:	Books.

Did you know?

• Attaining top positions on search engines will increase traffic to your website, hence, more sales revenue.



• The number one most effective way for potential customers to find you is through search engines
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• Achieving top ranking position on search engines is like free advertising in your local newspaper ... 24/7.



• More people use search engines to find products and services as compared to phone directory and yellow pages.



• According to a Direct Marketing Association poll, Search engine positioning was the top method cited by website marketers to drive traffic to their sites.



• 85% of qualified Internet traffic is driven through search engines.



• According to Forrester Research Media Field Study, attracting a loyal audience to your website is best achieved through top search engine listings.



• Over 200,000,000 people in North America use the Internet, according to a recent poll by Forrester Research. Over 90% of Internet users worldwide use search engines to find the sites they want. Search engine listings are the number one way to generate qualified traffic to websites.



• Internet users who have been online for three or more years are also heavy search engine users (39% on a typical day, compared to 14% of those who got access in the last six months).



• College graduates are also more likely to use a search engine on a typical day (39%, compared to 20% of high school graduates)



• NPD Group study shows search engine positions are 2 to 3 times more effective in generating sales than banner ads.



• According to a survey of Web marketers by WebCMO, search engine marketing was rated as the most effective means of promoting a Web site beating banner advertising, e-mail, and off-line promotion.



• 97 percent of Fortune 100 companies had some type of site architecture problem that might give them problems being found by search engines.



• Nine out of ten web users visit a search engine, portal or community site each month. They also revisit frequently, around five times per month.



• On average, Americans spend 1.5 hours per week searching for information