It seems that the advantage of organic search results over pay-per-click advertising are not quite as good as once thought. While it is true that people tend to click on organic search results 1.5 times more often than paid search results, paid search converts better. At least, that is what Click Z reported. According to a WebSideStory study paid search has a 3.4 percent conversion rate as compared to a 3.13 percent conversion rate for organic search results. The conclusion to be drawn, both paid and organic search results have their values and strengths. As ClickZ notes:

In the case of paid search, 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.

You can read the full ClickZ article here and you can read the original WebSiteStory study here. Enjoy!

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