One skeptic recently questioned why the search giant would help businesses by offering tips for SEO when it could make money from search advertising.

Google accounts for the lion’s share of the search market, with Brafton reporting last month that comScore says it represents 65.4 percent and 60.5 percent of explicit and core searches, respectively. With this in mind, many marketers understand there are many clicks to gain by optimizing websites for Google. At the same time, it seems many believe that Google has a lot of power behind its paid search campaigns, and one skeptic recently questioned why the search giant would help businesses by offering tips for SEO when it could make money from search advertising.

In a recent Google Webmaster Help video blog, Matt Cutts addressed the question, “why does Google give SEO advice.” His answer is that this is Google’s way of making the web a better place.

The search giant is not tricking web developers with its SEO tips – it’s aiming to boost the overall online experience. Cutts suggests that webmasters’ knowledge about white hat SEO benefits everyone. Optimized sites make it easier for consumers to find information they want, drive traffic to businesses’ sites (a plus for marketers) and – quite simply – make Google appealing to consumers. If the web is better, more people will use it and marketers may see more conversion.

Businesses who follow Cutts and other Googlle officials know the search engine prescribes good content for SEO strategies. In the Google Webmaster Central blog, Maile Ohye, a senior support engineer at Google, explained that the way to engage users and build links to drive SEO was to “create unique and compelling content on your site and the web in general.”

This theory is mirrored in a recent statement from AOL about its new, content-focused Project Devil ads. As Brafton reported last week, the company has come out with one-per-page ad slots to declutter the web, thereby enhancing “the beauty and usefulness of the online environment,” while helping brands provide consumers with the information that may most readily turn online shoppers into clients.

In his most recent Google Webmaster Help video blog, Matt Cutts adressed the question, “why does Google give SEO advice.” His answer is that this is Google’s way of making the web a better place.

The search giant is not tricking web developers with its SEO tips – it’s aiming to boost the overall online experience. Cutts suggests that webmasters’ knowledge about white hat SEO benefits everyone. Optimized sites make it easier for consumers to find information they want, drive traffic to businesses’ sites (a plus for marketers) and – quite simply – make Google appealing to consumers. If the web is better, more people will use it and marketers may see more conversion. 

Businesses who follow Cutts and other Googlle officials know the search engine prescibes good content for SEO strategies. In the Google Webmaster Central blog, I http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/10/good-times-with-inbound-links.html, Maile Ohye, a senior support engineer at Google, explained that the way to engage users and build links to drive SEO was to “create unique and compelling content on your site and the web in general.” 

This theory is mirrored in a recent statement from AOL about its new, content-focused Project Devil ads. As Brafton reported last week, the company has come out with one-per-page ad slots to declutter the web, thereby enhancing “the beauty and usefulness of the online environment,” while helping brands provide consumers with the information that may most readily turn online shoppers into clients.

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.