Could near-perfect SERPs mean the END of PPC & SEM?

~0 · #1 (**permalink**) 09-30-2004, 12:07 AM

If the relevancy of the SERPs become near-perfect / and so fine-tuned in personalization - what reason would many surfers have to click on PPCs - and would the ROI of SEM therefore decrease because of less need by consumers

http://www.crn.com/sections/breaking...cleId=48800245

Quote:

One Microsoft technologist said web search technology will be a big money maker for Google and others in the short term but he predicted the party won't last long.

The better we get at search, the cheaper the ads are,"

**mike** · #2 (**permalink**) 09-30-2004, 09:25 AM

Well, I have long held that a perfect search engine would take seo out of the picture to some (large) extent.

If you could find precisely what you were looking for every time, what role would seo play in th eperfect search engine? SEO would only skew the perfect results and as such would have to be ignored by the perfect search engine.

... of course there is no perfect search engine but even if there were, I could easily see where advertising in serps with paid placement might not only survive but flourish. If that were your only shot at showing up for something slightly more or different from what is specifically included on your page it would be highly desireable I think.

Chris · #3 (**permalink**) 09-30-2004, 12:50 PM

i'm not sure if microsoft is even qualified to make judgmental statements about the search industry.

just look at their track record. still waiting for the MSN search engine... and desktop search...

i noticed that mac didn't have to completely redo their method of file structure to include spotlight. the same can be said of the KDE desktop search project.

if you can't beat em, bash em.

**jawn_tech** · #4 (**permalink**) 09-30-2004, 01:00 PM

People will still pay for advertising for the chance to have something more eye-catching, or to have the control of the listing's wording. Especially in price competitions.

'Perfect search engine' will always be impossible as long as humans are searching. I think attention should also be given more to improving search on that end -- people becoming better searchers. I think the idea of that can be underestimated.

Phonetic search -- "I have lip fungus"

TrafficProducer · #5 (**permalink**) 10-01-2004, 06:44 AM

PPC have the problem of click fraud.

SERPs have the problem of changing search engine algorithms and different search engines producing different results for the same SEO.

PPC Click Fraud overall could cost more making this more prohibitive.

Heal3r · #6 (**permalink**) 11-08-2004, 05:43 PM

If the organic listings were perfect?
Ok, who defines that?

And what about the element of surprise. The random things you see and learn because of poor search results?

I say the "perfect solution" is telling someone else to find what you are looking for so you can move on to more important things

And it might not ruin PPC. As long as advertisers are willing to pay, SE's are willing to promote. And there will always be a few people out of the hundreds of millions who would choose the pretty advertisements over the plain ole organic listings.