Research has revealed that organic search engine results play a direct role in whether or not a paid listing is clicked. The study by an America university found that if both a paid result and an organic result appear at the same time in a search listing then there is a greater chance of your paid result being clicked on.

It’s thought that these findings have come about because of our tendency to trust organic listings more than paid ads.

The research found:

*The impact of organic listings on paid advertising is 3.5 times stronger than vice-versa
* There is a positive link between paid and organic listings, which could increase advertisers’ profits by at least 6.15%
* Click-through rates, conversion rates and total revenues are higher when both paid and organic listings are present at the same time.

A new survey has revealed that 93% of consumers plan to shop on-line this Christmas, with almost three-quarters prepared to do at least half of their festive shopping on-line.

The report by eDigitalResearch and IMRG reveals the on-line shopping figures have risen by more than 25% compared to last year.

But e-tailers will need to remain competitive to gain a slice of this on-line consumer cheer because 88% of those surveyed said they would be price-comparing before purchasing.

Another piece of good news for on-line business is that despite the threat Royal Mail strike action, 60% of consumers are confident that they will receive their gifts on time.

The latest news in the social media networking world is that business community network LinkedIn, which claims to have 50 million users, is linking up with the big, buzzy social network of Twitter, which claims a whole host more users.

In the coming days, LinkedIn members will find that they will be able to choose the option to have status updates appearing on Twitter, and vice versa.

What this means is that LinkedIn business network users will be able to share their tweets in Twitterland, as well as on LinkedIn. And tweeters on Twitter will be able to share some specified messages with their LinkedIn profile, too.

And so the business of social networking continues to grow at top speed.

Real-time search is much more basic than, for example, Google Search. These type of searches aren’t ranked for relevancy but rather they are assessed on the basis of “visibility”. This means that the more people you have following you and talking about your articles the more updates there will be and the higher your chances of ranking well on a search engine.

Here’s a simply guide to the emerging concept of real-time search engines.:

Keywords still king: Use keywords in your content, titles and updates.

Keep it current: Talk/write about current topics and events.

Aim big: The goal is to have lots of followers or friends on social networks and your blogs so that you have the maximum number of people sharing your content. And the more people sharing your content, the more impressions of your content make it to real-time searches.

Start talking: You want to start conversations and get people chatting. Again, it’s a “more chats is king” theory.

Twitter is the big buzz word at the moment, especially in the world of on-line business marketing. But perhaps you are still not convinced about the values of this social media network. Here we bring you some of the reasons why we believe tweeting is becoming even more important for your on-line company, whether you’re selling products or services.

1. Twitter lists: The Lists gadget could be the key to getting your tweets to appear all over the web. Better still, if you can get tweets to appear on relevant/niche websites and blogs then you’ll be preaching to an already converted audience. Ideal is you’re competing against other companies to sell better/cheaper products or services.

2. It’s an open market: Social media is an “open” place where messages are shared among a range of sites including Facebook. Twitter is the way of getting a message out but it’s likely that other people, using other social media networks, will also end up reading the message, too. An analogy would be: Woman chats to friend she meets in the street about a new dry cleaning service she thinks is very good. The friend then tells another woman at the school gates while picking up her child, which is also overheard by a parent standing nearby, who goes home and tells her husband. Just imagine how this type of chat would spread on twitter and social media networks.

3. A passion: One of the key aspects of Twitter is that it links people with niche interests. While Twitter will bring you lots of random traffic it is also very good at relaying traffic from people who are passionate about your topic or subject, too. If you have successfully tweeted about a reputable product or service to sell then your aim is to get people retweeting – that is, tweeting about your tweet. If people retweet then it shows they like your product or service and they are willing to vouch for it on the open web. Everyone likes a recommendation, don’t they?

Tweeting is big – especially for businesses who want to effectively market their products and services.

Here we bring you a guide to getting started.

Set up a profile: Click “settings” and start writing your profile. The most important sections to fill in are URL, bio, picture and design.

Like for like: Look for people with the same interests in Twitter directories, such as Twellow and JustTweetIt, and start following them. You might also like to follow their followers, too. The aim here is to build a community with a similar niche interest as your own.

Get into conversation: You’ll now need to get some tweets on your page. Chat to people with similar interests and ask people questions. You need to get tweeting and don’t be afraid to chat.

A word of warning: Do not be tempted to spam on Twtter. Don’t send repeated messages to people with links just to get your service, name or product noticed. And do not constantly direct message other people with links. You’ll end up as an “unfollower” if you behave badly.

Keep in touch: Daily updates are the ideal. Chat, make conversation and reply on a regular basis. Soon enough people will recognise you and you’ll be followed, too.

What’s on topic: It’s a great idea to find a topic to Tweet about. Try adding the invite “please retweet” to the end of your chats. If you have been gathering followers you will now start to see people responding to your tweets.