Before you take advantage of all that online marketing can do for your business, make sure you understand the difference between paid advertising and organic search results.

When someone conducts a Google search for products or services related to your business while you’re advertising with AdWords, Google’s online advertising platform.

Section 1 can contain AdWords ads. Ads can appear on the top or bottom of the Google search results page next to or under an “Ads” label. Ads are ranked primarily based on how relevant and useful they are to what the person searched for, your bid, and a few other factors.

Section 2 is made up of “organic” search results. These are unpaid links to websites with content related directly to what the person searched for. The more relevant the site is to the search term, the higher the link will appear in the list. Your related website could appear here, but your ad won’t.