Why SEO is Not Always Enough (Sometimes you've gotta pay to play)

The document discusses how SEO alone is often not enough to achieve top rankings in search engines like Google. It notes that Google is an advertising company first and focuses on maximizing profits and user satisfaction rather than directly helping individual websites. Several case studies are presented that show users pay little attention to whether results are organic or paid, and click through rates are high for paid listings. The author argues that within a few years, the first page of search results will be dominated by paid placements and Google-owned results rather than independent organic listings. The document advocates an integrated SEM and SEO approach to achieve visibility across paid, organic, and Google-owned placements.Read less