"The War on Free Clicks"

LINK: http://www.wordstream.com/articles/google-ads

The link posted above is a very informative "infographic" which touts the benefits of the pay-per-click business model by Google. It challenges the assumptions held by many that "nobody clicks on the sponsored ads in the Google search results," and even goes further by asserting that consumers are actually more likely to click on a sponsored ad when the search demonstrates "high commercial (read: purchase) intent," as opposed to an organic search result.

The infographic also illustrates the value of SEO vs SEM as it relates to the purchase funnel -- asserting that SEO is more valuable for consumers seeking to do basic research on a product, while SEM is more valuable as consumers demonstrate greater purchase intent.