I may have asked about this a while back, but trying again. I want a very crude estimate of the value, in monetary terms, of having your content (an article about you, your company, your political party, your theory, your views about another person, or theory, or party) getting top rank in a Google search.

Difficult to assess. Is it worth more, or less, than an advert containing the same information? I imagine more. I take little notice of those sections in newspapers labelled 'advert'. I read the non-advert bits more studiously as I imagine they were written with some independence. Likewise, I take big newspapers slightly more seriously than small ones or specialist ones, where the 'independent' material is heavily influenced by the advertisers. I take an 'encyclopedia' most seriously of all, as an encyclopedia is truly independent isn't it? Hmm. Anyway, I think the cost of an encyclopedia article coming #1 in Google should be very expensive, much more so than a mere advert.

Thoughts?