Is PPC affecting my rankings?

[Powerabuser]

I have noticed a few sites who bid highest for a certain set of keywords on Yahoo have now moved to be top of the natural rankings as well as the paid rankings. Initially I thought there was no link between the two but now I am not so sure, maybe the sites getting higher traffic are being ranked higher?
What you people think?

[ypn_ceo]

The financial long-term cost of this is pretty high.
I'd recommend writing some good content that will allow people to naturally link to your site.

[nick]

By placing payperclick ads, you can temporarily gain thousands of links to your site which in itself will push up the rankings.

[anna]

Originally Posted by ypn_ceo

The financial long-term cost of this is pretty high.
I'd recommend writing some good content that will allow people to naturally link to your site.

But it is also very difficult to write some good content

[ypn_ceo]

It is difficult, yes, but its a better long run solution instead of paying monthly marketing costs.

[Powerabuser]

I do not believe PPC ads count toward your links. Running a linkdomain: in Y or a link: in G, I see links from Overture ads , but never Adwords ads. Whether these actually count for anything is doubtful.

[anna]

There are links and links. PPC links do not improve your organic position on the core engines. Sure, some tacky outfits like Lycos will sell you an "organic" No. ranking. But if that's not prostitution, what is?

[nick]

Originally Posted by Powerabuser

I have noticed a few sites who bid highest for a certain set of keywords on Yahoo have now moved to be top of the natural rankings as well as the paid rankings. Initially I thought there was no link between the two but now I am not so sure, maybe the sites getting higher traffic are being ranked higher?
What you people think?

You can pay Yahoo $299 a year to be listed in their directory and it won't affect natural rankings.

[ypn_ceo]

I sincerely doubt that Yahoo would tie natural and paid listings to each other in any way. The potential brand impact should proof surface outways any potential benefit.

[Powerabuser]

I defenitely think it is.. cuz Yahoo CPC does not just appear on Yahoo... its on MSN.. (i think) and various other engines.. which does generate links ..which should be counted... would like to hear more on same though..cheers