26 September 2006 | Author: Gilli Goodman
The recent study was based on 57 million search engine visits and reported that in comparisons between 20 leading business to consumer (B2C) sites from January to August of this year, customers brought through by pay per click advertising converted at a median order rate of 3.4 percent. This compares to a conversion rate of 3.13 percent on customers brought to the site by organic search results.
These results are obviously limited in sample size, but raise an interesting issue. Traditionally, the difference in conversion rates was thought to have been much larger; previous studies on paid search conversion rates reported a general range of between 0.5 and 5 percent, but the average is accepted to be around 2 percent while organic is at around 1.5 percent. Therefore, this study might suggest that the gap between the media is closing.
Within the industry, there are many different opinions as to which method delivers leads of a higher quality - and there are certainly arguments to support both sides. In an article by Kevin Newcomb at ClickZ, WebSideStory's CMO gives the following explanation as to the proximity of the results in their study:
"On the one hand, because you control the message of paid search, you'd expect higher conversions. On the other [hand], because people value the 'editorial integrity' of organic, you'd expect higher conversions," he said. "Ultimately you need to do both. I think the eye-opener here is that neither side has a significant edge."
"In the case of paid search," he continued, "marketers have better control over the ad's message, the landing page and the ability to eliminate low-converting keywords. For organic listings, users often perceive them as 'independent,' which can increase click-throughs, but the lack of control of what the search result says, or what page it links to on the marketer's site can decrease conversions."
Dana Todd, executive VP of interactive agency SiteLab and president of the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO) added on the subject:
"Most visitors are not looking past the top three paid search ads, and the top three organic results. At that level of quality sites, you'd expect to see conversion rates that are close."
WebSideStory do point out that the sampled sites are particularly well optimised and understand how to maximise their conversion rates. However, any stats like these are worth keeping an eye on; it is important to understand changes in conversion as the search market moves and evolves. Hopefully, improvements in web analytics will allow us to see results from a larger sample size, and we can all have a better idea of the relationship between paid and organic search.
Paid vs. organic search conversion rates - a new study
WebSideStory, a leading provider of digital marketing and analytical solutions, has announced the results of a new study on the differences between paid and organic search conversion rates: it seems that paid search converts only 9 percent better than organic search.The recent study was based on 57 million search engine visits and reported that in comparisons between 20 leading business to consumer (B2C) sites from January to August of this year, customers brought through by pay per click advertising converted at a median order rate of 3.4 percent. This compares to a conversion rate of 3.13 percent on customers brought to the site by organic search results.
These results are obviously limited in sample size, but raise an interesting issue. Traditionally, the difference in conversion rates was thought to have been much larger; previous studies on paid search conversion rates reported a general range of between 0.5 and 5 percent, but the average is accepted to be around 2 percent while organic is at around 1.5 percent. Therefore, this study might suggest that the gap between the media is closing.
Within the industry, there are many different opinions as to which method delivers leads of a higher quality - and there are certainly arguments to support both sides. In an article by Kevin Newcomb at ClickZ, WebSideStory's CMO gives the following explanation as to the proximity of the results in their study:
"On the one hand, because you control the message of paid search, you'd expect higher conversions. On the other [hand], because people value the 'editorial integrity' of organic, you'd expect higher conversions," he said. "Ultimately you need to do both. I think the eye-opener here is that neither side has a significant edge."
"In the case of paid search," he continued, "marketers have better control over the ad's message, the landing page and the ability to eliminate low-converting keywords. For organic listings, users often perceive them as 'independent,' which can increase click-throughs, but the lack of control of what the search result says, or what page it links to on the marketer's site can decrease conversions."
Dana Todd, executive VP of interactive agency SiteLab and president of the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO) added on the subject:
"Most visitors are not looking past the top three paid search ads, and the top three organic results. At that level of quality sites, you'd expect to see conversion rates that are close."
WebSideStory do point out that the sampled sites are particularly well optimised and understand how to maximise their conversion rates. However, any stats like these are worth keeping an eye on; it is important to understand changes in conversion as the search market moves and evolves. Hopefully, improvements in web analytics will allow us to see results from a larger sample size, and we can all have a better idea of the relationship between paid and organic search.
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