More than half of companies believe that natural search is a "very effective" internet marketing method, new research has shown.

The research by Econsultancy also shows that companies are relying on natural search for the main bulk of their lead generation for sales and marketing.

This underlines the importance of search engine optimisation (SEO) to the modern businesses keen to break into the online market.

However, success with organic search marketing through SEO demands that businesses have a good understanding of what it entails, says Paul Bruemmer on Search Engine Land.

He wrote: "To truly understand the role of search marketing, your in-house team must be knowledgeable in a wide spectrum of search services."

Mr Bruemmer also added that not enough companies are making use of SEO as a marketing tool, which he believes is demonstrably more cost-effective than other methods.

Google's own Matt Cutts recently advised businesses to begin introducing blogs onto their websites to help boost SEO.

Is blogging becoming an SEO fundamental?

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