As we ‘Barrel Rolled’ into November, there has been some exciting news in the world of digital marketing. More specifically the latest website conversion trends. The State of Digital Marketing report, published by Webmarketing123, has revealed that SEO is indeed worth all the fuss. The report, which surveyed over 500 companies in the US marketing themselves online, has shown that SEO beats both PPC and Social Media Marketing for generating leads. Some food for thought in the forever heated SEO vs PPC debate.

And it’s no wonder businesses are increasingly looking towards SEO as an advertising solution, with 80% of commercial search engine referrals coming from organic results and not costly PPC. There is no doubt that PPC can compliment organic search results, but this report goes to prove that they are no substitution for the trust and credibility that can be brought about from organically sourced results. If your confused by this stage go here: SEO vs PPC What are the differences?

This report comes at a time when Google’s latest product, Google Plus, is causing much debate within SEO circles. Although the real benefits of Google Plus remains to be seen, it is already showing signs of promise for online marketers. Will it be the next big thing and challenge the likes of Facebook? The addition of official brand pages in the last few days has given people the chance to like their favourite brands, which may have an equally strong impact on increasing page credibility, and ultimately increase sales that come from more trusting and engaged consumers. We have seen that tweets and social media can affect search rankings, so If Google Plus does live up to the company’s expectations, it will be the businesses that are strong and actively engaged in SEO that will really reap the benefits.