SEO vs. PPC

The figure above is a heat map generated by Google to show where, for how long and with what interest a viewer reads a search results page.

This is done by placing cameras on the computer monitor that record your pupils’ movements and dilation.

As you can see, organic search results (SEO) return 300% more clicks than Pay-Per-Click does. Why?

Organic search engine optimization campaigns offer several distinct advantages over pay-per-click advertising campaigns, as many recent studies have shown. What follows is a brief listing of some of the findings.

Propensity to Click

Study after study indicates people are less likely to click on paid search ads rather than on results from organic search engine optimization. For example, one study found that search users are up to six times more likely to click on the organic results than they are to choose any of the paid results[1], while an eye tracking study[2] showed that 74 percent of users begin their search by scanning the organic results.

Trust

Studies are beginning to indicate that the trust level for organic results is much higher than that of paid results, and that paid results are looked upon as a nuisance by some searchers. One study found that only 14 percent of searchers trust paid listings, and 29 percent report being “annoyed” by them.[3] Another study found that 66 percent of customers distrust paid ads.[4] Clearly, it’s not generally a good idea to upset potential customers before they even click on your link.

Value of Visitors

Organic search engine results tend to be seen as non-biased, and they therefore are able to provide visitors that are more valuable. The overall conversion rate, or the rate at which searchers take a desired action on a site, is 17 percent higher for unpaid search results than the rate for paid (4.2% vs. 3.6%).[5] Trends also have shown that more of the sales that result from search engines originated in organic search listings.[6]

Visitors Becoming More Aware of Pay-Per-Click as Advertising

As more and more people turn to the Internet for research and information, more searchers are becoming aware of paid results as a marketing tool. One study showed that not only are 38 percent of searchers aware of the distinction between paid and unpaid results, 54 percent are aware of the distinction on Google, which is widely recognized as the most popular search engine.[7]

Long Term Results

While a pay-per-click campaign may produce results more quickly than an organic search engine optimization campaign, organic search engine optimization campaigns can give you results that last. When the budget runs out for a pay-per-click campaign, the results end as well. With organic search engine optimization, the optimized site content and other changes made to your site are a fixed cost and, therefore, continue to put your website in front of qualified searchers without interruption.

Relevance

Users also have rated organic search engine results as more relevant than paid results. On Google, 72.3 percent felt that organic results were more relevant, while only 27.7 percent rated paid results as more relevant. Yahoo offered similar results, with 60.8 calling organic results relevant compared to only 39.2 percent for paid.[8]

Time Line

As previously stated, the results from pay-per-click advertising are immediate. On the other hand, an organic search engine optimization campaign may take up to three months or more for results to be apparent. In this case, pay-per-click is advantageous for those who are looking to promote a program that will go live in a short amount of time, or whose business is seasonal in nature and who only do promotion during certain months of the year.

Citations

[1] Oneupweb study [2] Enquiro, July 2005 [3] eMarketer, April 2003 [4] eMarketer 2003 [5] Marketing Sherpa, August 2005 [6] Are Corporate Web Sites Optimized for SEO? by Paul Bruemmer, August 2005 [7] Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2005 [8] iProspect, Survey Sampling International, WebSurveyor, and Stratagem Research, April 2004