Why is SEO so important?
Studies, Articles and Reviews:
Search-Style Ads Lift Brand Awareness
Respondents were 27 percent more likely to name a specific brand if it held the top spot on the search results page. When advertisement within the results of the search engines increases the brand awareness, then the results themselves must also increase.
Source: http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3381481
Organic listing and paid ads: Who is more important?
In Google 72.3% click on organic results, 27.7% click on paid ads
Source: http://www.clickz.com/experts/search/results/article.php/3347951
Search Results: More Valuable Than Ad Placements?
Search results are in higher demand than ever before and often seem more valuable than ad placements.
Source: http://www.clickz.com/experts/media/agency_strat/article.php/832871
Natural Search: The Overlooked Strategy
Natural SEM is elemental...shame on you for letting all those other inquiries go to the competition.
Source:http://www.clickz.com/experts/search/results/article.php/3076661
Ad Relevance: Actual Site Genres shows that search engines lead
Search engines and portals are the leading resources for online users. As portals like AOL have integrated search engines, the importance of search engines on the Internet is impressive.
Source: http://www.adrelevance.com/intelligence/intel_dataglance.jsp?sr=36808
Ranking in search engines matters
A benchmark report from Atlas DMT which reinforces what many search engine marketers already know: the relative position or ranking of paid search keyword listings is of critical importance. The conclusion of this report is also portable to organic search engine rankings.
Source: http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3379931
Source: http://atlasdmt.com/media/pdfs/insights/RankReport.pdf (Report as PDF-File)
Internet / Search Engines are the top Information Resource
The Internet and search engines are the best resources for finding answers in our lives and are even more important than answers from friends and family members.
Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/sereport/article.php/2163411
Traffic Patterns
A perfect resource for finding out how people use search engines
Source: http://www.clickz.com/stats/big_picture/traffic_patterns/index.php/
Some examples of the resources:
Searches reflect the spectrum of interests: http://www.clickz.com/stats/big_picture/traffic_patterns/index.php/