Do you know that according to WebSideStory, an analytics firm, in 2003 medium to large Web sites got an average of 13.6% of traffic from search engines? Do you realize the power in that one simple statement?
Search engine marketers trying to get new business from medium to large Web sites can ask for log files from potential clients. They can then determine the percentage of traffic from search engines for those potential clients. They can compare it to the average, and use that number to prove the need for their services as well as the importance of search engine marketing.
The same principle applies to SEOs trying to prove to the marketing or management departments that search engine marketing needs to be taken seriously.