This post is for you if you are, or plan to be, an online advertiser. It will explain how Google users interact with the various positions and listings on the Google search results page. We have identified 3 types of interaction; Eyeballs (Adviews), Fingers (Clicks) and €€€s (Conversions which are enquiries, sales etc) for this post.

Eyeballs (Adviews):

Mulley Communications released an important study last month entitled “Google Search”. One of the key findings of this study was that 70% of the sample group look at the top result first whether this result was a sponsored link or not. So if your sponsored link is in position no.1 on the left hand side of the SERP (Search Engine Results Page) you are in the most viewed position on the page.

Fingers (clicks):

Our internal stats for the first 6 months of this year across 20+ adwords accounts show that average Click Through Rate is 4.6% when an ad is in the top 2 positions (left or right of SERP) for a relevant search. Click through rates decrease as your ad moves down the positions on the page.

When the search term is specifically relevant e.g. “laser eye surgery Dublin” matching keywords have click-through rates upwards of 20%.

€€€ (Conversions):

Our internal studies have also shown that people who click on sponsored links are more likely to enquire or buy. Here are recent Google Analytics stats from our own site, the goal is an enquiry:

As you can see the top converting traffic source was Microsoft Live, but with one enquiry the data is not statistically significant.

When you compare Google Organic to Google Cost per Click (AdWords traffic) we see that AdWords traffic is twice as likely to enquire as it’s organic counterpart. This is a trend we have been seeing again and again over the past 2 years.

We believe the reason for this is that people looking for information on a subject will click on the organic list. Whereas a shopper, who want to make a purchase or enquiry and they want to make it now, is more likely to click on the sponsored links, it’s logical.

Conclusion:

The top of the Search Engine Results page is prime position for ad views with 70% of searchers looking at the top listing.

When a sponsored link is in the top 1-2 positions it benefits from a CTR of about 4.5%. Considerably lower than the 70% ad views, why?

This is because the majority of searchers are info seekers. So the wiki’s, forums and news sites on the organic list best suit their informational requirements. However the minority of searchers are shoppers, who want to make a purchase or enquiry and want to make it now, so they are more likely to click on the sponsored links and convert from there.

From an advertisers point of view:

Organic Clickers = Tyre Kickers

Sponsored Links Clickers = Shoppers

For info on our Google Adwords PPC services click here.

For info on our Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) services click here.