Search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. have learnt to monetize this trend of search engine usage. On one hand, they search the Internet for the most relevant search result for the search query entered by the user and display them.
SEM (Search Engine Marketing)
On the other hand, they also display a series of paid ads based on the keyword entered for search. These ads are chosen on the relevance of the keyword to the search query and the advertiser’s bid for the keyword, meaning the amount the advertiser is willing to pay for every click on his ads.
For every business, it helps to be on the first few pages of the search results. Research has proven that users are most likely to click on links that are displayed on page one of search results. Some users may go as far as the second or third page of search results, but it is not very common for users to look beyond the third page for the information, product, service or entertainment they are looking for. More often than not, if a user does not find what he is looking for in the first few pages, he is more likely to refine his search query than look further than first few pages. However, this is true for both the organic search results and online ads.
