That headline is the claim of iProspect.

They released the results of a study that shows that 35% of organizations that outsource their natural search engine optimization and also participate in pay per click advertising - and can measure the ROI of each - recognize a higher return from SEO. They compare that with 11% of marketers from the same universe who report that PPC produces the higher ROI.

So what does that really mean? First, 35% and 11% adds up to 46%. So what of the other 54%? Well, the study also revealed that 45% of marketers who participate in both natural search engine optimization and pay per click advertising cannot determine whether SEO or PPC provides a higher ROI. In my opinion, THAT tells the story.

I recall back in 1999, just as the Internet boom was peaking, before it all went bust, I was experimenting with pay per click advertising. I was running campaigns on Goto/Overture, and the old Sprinks system from About.com. My overall experience was that while I was getting clicks, I wasn't getting them from my desired target audience. Perhaps times were different back then, or perhaps I wasn't as wise back then either.

In any case, the moral of the story for me was that paying for clicks was useless unless those clicks came from the right people. Just because you're bidding on a keyword, doesn't mean you're bidding on a particular audience. One specific keyword could end up being searched on by several different demographics.

SEO, on the other hand, is not necessarily a better buy either. If you are able to implement an effecive SEO strategy on your own, then great! Otherwise, paying for it is about as risky as pay per click campaign. First, every SEO firm has a different strategy towards success than the others, yet every SEO firm claims it can outperform the others. How can that be?

In the end, the best way to get ranked high in the search engines, is to become an authority site. An authority site is simply a website that is respected as a leader on a specific subject area. To accomplish this, you must publish lots of content, on a consistent basis, and stick to the subject. This will encourage other websites to link to you, and with enough of these links, you'll end up becoming an authority site.

If you think about it, that's really what all the search engines are trying to promote. They want the authority sites to show up #1 on their listings, because that makes them look accurate and relevant. So instead of pouring money into buying SEO consultation and pay per click programs, put that money into content creation instead.