60 replies to this topic

[lyn]

Looking at the data provided by adybee and ewo here - I never realized there was such a difference between SEs in this type of user behaviour.

I wonder if this is an indicator of how much trust users have of the organic results produced by the different SEs?

L.

[ChipJohns]

This is one of those things that is so difficult to monitor. How many people do you know that are *not* net savvy and use the net all the time? I know people who don't even know the difference between organic and paid results. These people, I am sure, click on the sponsored links more than most, and they don't even realize it. This in itself would distort these figures.

Looking at the data of all clicks is much different than a survey that targets a specific user. For instance what if your typical visitor is someone who isn't a savvy net surfer!? Then you may do better with a sponsered links program.

To be worth while, a breakdown of the section of users would mean much more than looking at 100% of the results. These don't mean a whole lot to any one site. you would need to break down the cross section of users to such a defined degree it would be redicules to even attempt. IMO

Looking at certain figures could give SOME benefit, but, nothing I would use for definitive solutions.

[Karri]

Eye tracking studies using heat maps indicate that people, for the most part, scan the SERPs in an F-pattern. I have no idea if that information is relevant to your research but it's a behaviour that should definitely make anyone think twice about how they write their tags and/or PPC campaigns. Here's an article that explains:

http://www.useit.com...ng_pattern.html

Karri

[redsonia!]

ChipJohns: I have to agree with you about the people who are not net savvy. None of my friends know the difference between the sponsored ads and the organic listings. Whenever I mention PPC, they ask me what that is and when I explain how the SERPS are set up they all respond the same way. "OH, I always wondered how that worked. I never knew what the different boxes (or colors) meant." The only people I've ever talked to who knew the difference were people with websites. Even the friends who actually noticed the label "Sponsored Ads" said they didn't know what that meant. So I don't think people are consciously choosing not to click the sponsored ads. I tend to believe that organic ads are clicked more frequently because the text for the organic ads appeals to the searchers more. I truly believe that the overwhelming majority of people have no clue what the difference is between the sponsored and organic ads. Just my opinion.

[jamesbad]

The thing about statistics is that they are so easy to abuse. IMO the sites that rely on this fact take advantage of the paid listings to get clicks from un-net savvy people. And I think there are lots of intelligent people that don't know the first thing about the internet. On the other hand, you can draw your own conclusions.

[Clintorius]

I don't think people are consciously choosing not to click the sponsored ads. I tend to believe that organic ads are clicked more frequently because the text for the organic ads appeals to the searchers more.  I truly believe that the overwhelming majority of people have no clue what the difference is between the sponsored and organic ads.  Just my opinion.

You do not have to be conscious about what you select and do not select. Actually is not 'your inner voice' that choose what it is focusing on it self. The free will is handled for most part by sublimal circuits. Thus your brain will read the term 'Sponsored Links' and tell the eyeball to keep browsing without you noticing it.

You do not believe me? Have you ever looked at your watch and not being able to answer the question 'what time is it? It was some lower brain function that ordered you to look at the clock because it needed to keep track of time for some lower level function ( as reminding 'you' of a upcoming meeting).

All commercials are made for the non-analyzing part of us - else it would not work for most products. The whole idea of the need for ranking high in SEs comes from the fact, that searchers do not perform higher level thinking in their initial approach ( if ever).

The SERPs are serving better snippets than carefully planned adds? Are you kidding? The majority of listings are not SEO'ed - they are pure junk: parts of the menu system, truncated address lines, errors about frames etc.

My advise is: Do not write adds for and do not optimize for peoples higher order cognitive functions. Don't make them Think! (Thanks Steve Krug).


C.

[ChipJohns]

I partially agree Clintorius, but not competely.

If you could turn on your televeision and go to a channel and scroll through a list of commercials to watch, the tv commercial industry would have to change their strategies quite a bit.

I agree that the things you mention work.I am not sure however where this fits in to what you are saying in this instance. Is it just a matter of being in the first position, or second or third that works best? I don't believe so. I have gotten productive hits from search terms I know I couldn't have been any closer than 32 or 33 position (page 4!)

Unless things have changed isn't it still a fact that the number one link still gets clicked the most? This isn't to say that the first position gets the most conversion. But, that's not what we are discussing here. Purely put, what determines what position a person clicks on first, then second, etc.

Information can also be persuasive.

I would venture to say that for marketing sake we need to look at conversion however. People who do not select a link according to a decision according to the information vs. a person who does; who is more likely to buy? I would venture to say that if we could do a study on this the later would prove to be the case.

Proof of this is the fact that people who use more precise search temrs generally make a purchase vs. people who do not.

I do agree with keeping it simple for the user. I also agree with Tom Peters who says, "keeping it simple is the most difficult thing to do."

[jtaylor123]

just to put in my personal thoughts- I know before I was working in SEO I never clicked on paid ads, mostly because I thought they were kind of like spam. None of my friends click on them either.

[Selie]

Yeah, I agree with the above poster - I've actually never clicked on a paid listing because so many of them are obviously bogus and because I considered them a sort of spam. They seemed to lack integrity. Then again, I'm beginning to have that trouble with organic results as well, too... I'm going to blame the black-hat SEO for that.

I just wonder what percentage of SE visitors are like me and jtaylor, cynical web users who actively avoid what can be perceived as spam, and what percentage of SE visitors are like my mother, who types "ebay" into her search engine of choice every single time she wants to go to ebay and who doesn't recognize a distinction between paid and organic listings. She just clicks on whatever comes up first and gets frustrated if it isn't the result she wants.

Percentage of one vs. other for each engine might explain those really interesting stats. I wonder what that says about MSN's visitor base ... more of my mother and less of me?

[Hyperformance]

(neither one is a silver bullet to guaranteed success online)
I know nobody said that...

What we click? I think it depends.... it depends on a lot of things - right down to how the weather was that day.

I also believe that your independent results can assist you in defining what is working for your website and sales versus what is not?

Your stats can give you great insight as to what is working for you or your product - PPC or Organic - and to what degree. I believe you can define a clear winner for your business when properly analyzed, or even a good combination of the programs based upon organic strength in that phrase (or not).... but one should never rule out either Tool as a potential increase in online business.

In my experience, Organic results are still the strongest, best qualified, largest numbers, and most enduring source for leads in your business. - Please keep in mind that I sell based upon our results, so I can be biased, but I am real and try not to fool myself as well.

The numbers I believe that are growing? That would be the number of surfers that ARE NOT clicking on paid ads - as they have learned from their own experience that this is not always the most relevant or necessarily even related to what they were searching for... that dismay has them trusting the Organic links just a little bit more... and that could mean more conversions. Of course there are millions of newbies still clicking on those paid ads not knowing there is any difference at all.

I have also noticed a trend as the major phrases increase in cost for PPC - ...and that is that a number of players leave PPC as these costs increase (popular terms)and their conversions stay the same or decrease.

My personal bottom line is that the Organic results and their importance will continue to increase as the Web multiplies, and those that take the time and expense to offer their content and products in a very acceptable and understandable manner to the Human user and the SE's will continue to benefit greatly, versus the Billions of web pages and entire sites that are not found in the hourly (organic) searches that take place for their product or service. It (organic strength) is a longer term, but a very cost effective approach to marketing successfully online (IMO).

One more thought.... to have a PPC account for "Client A" that covers all the phrases that we have organically placed in positions 1-10 on the first page of search results? Well, for those 400+ primary phrases (not junk terms) in a PPC account - I can't even figure how wealthy I would have to be (month to month) to cover that PPC billing - even the clicks that are mistakes really cost me very little in my overall online marketing budget - and I never worry about fraudulent clicks or the whether the bill I receive is actually accurate... worries that can effectively cost me too.

- Scott

[lyn]

...isn't it still a fact that the number one link still gets clicked the most?

There is still an issue there about what searchers perceive as the number one position. There is evidence that many searchers disregard the sponsored listings entirely and their eye tracks right to the "number one" organic listing. The click rate is much higher for that position than for the absolute number one paid position.

I expect the results would vary between search engines, depending on how clearly the paid spots are distinguished from the organic results.

L.

[jtaylor123]

I personally think once the older generation, <the one who types ebay into search boxed, as mentioned above,) (not to be morbid) dies out, the younger generation, (like me, who saw PPC as spam) won't click the PPC ads, unless they're educated that not all PPC ads are spam.

[IgorMordkovich]

My friend ........... it all depends on your industry. Depends on the keywords people type.

Many non-Internet savvy users will mistake paid results for natural ones. In few industries I worked in PPC ads would get more clicks than the natural ones.

You have to think about the people who are searching for what you're advertising. If you're selling to seniors, the % of clicks on Paid ads appearing on the TOP 3 spots on Google might be more popular than the first URL shown in natural search.

The web can not be generalized. Every question such as yours will have an answer ............ "It depends".

[jehochman]

If I am trying to buy something online, I will purposefully read the ads and click the best one. That's often the fastest way to find a legit supplier.

J'123, your hostility to advertising may change over time. Don't assume that you are the center of the universe and that the rest of the world is going to follow you. Some day you'll have more disposable income, more responsibility, and less free time. Do you think I'm a doddering old fool because I click on ads?

[Jill]

Unfortunately, the organic results are generally way less relevant than the PPC ones. I'm quite sure that's done purposely by the search engines and will only get worse over time.