SEO ‘organic’ search results are determined by a complex algorithm that attempts to determine the relevance of different websites content for whatever keyword term a Google end User enters. Unfortunately, at least for the Google user, directly measuring relevance, which is basically measuring a keyword or keyword phrase meaning, is currently impossible. Therefore SEO Google and the other major search engines use items such as words / phrases in a website's content and the number / strength of its link referrals as a proxy for relevance.

Goggles search income is generated from a minority of Google’s actual search inquiry click-throughs. This is so because Google SEO search income is generated solely from its pay per click (PPC) search advertising service. PPC provides placement among search listings on an auction basis. With minor modification, PPC operates so that the highest bidder for a particular keyword at a certain point in time gets the top placement.

Most Google users though do not click-through from listings generated via Google’s PPC service. Instead they click-through from Google’s ‘organic’, i.e. free, search results. It is estimated that 70% of Google’s search inquiry click throughs are to search listings provided by the ‘Organic’ search results. Yahoo’s and MSN’s organic search results are thought to be responsible for 60% of their search inquiry click throughs. The relative percentages of search engine click throughs from organic search vs.

The set of services that attempt to elevate a websites ranking in the ‘organic’ search results for particular keyword and or keyword phrases is called SEO Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is different from the services offered under the term Search Engine Marketing (SEM), which is a set of services used to effectively manage a SEO website’s PPC search results.

But why hasn’t SEO type services experienced the same growth? Even more important, does this lack of growth indicate minimal value for SEO type services? The lack of growth of the SEO market has not been caused by a lack of value in SEO. Rather it has to do with the greater complexity and sophistication associated with SEO as the web search engines have developed increasingly complex algorithms in their quixotic search to replicate relevance through an ever increasing number of interrelated proxies.

Sadly the historical size and ease of entry into the SEO market place has meant the competitive landscape largely resembles a cottage industry. Most SEO providers are ‘mum and dad’ type organizations whose core competency has been traditionally been based around some specific SEO tactic(s). These companies have limited ability to find the capital required to fund this type of knowledge expansion therefore it is difficult for them to increase their technical or sales capabilities. In this scenario, many providers of online search related services have largely given up on attempting to provide services related to organic search listing and has decided instead to focus on the much easier task of managing PPC search results.