Search engine campaigns should be analyzed frequently, so the proper balance can be established. "With MSN clicks so heavily skewed toward paid advertisements, if you review your log files and determine you are not receiving sufficient traffic from MSN, it would make sense to notch up your Overture spend — which powers paid the search results on MSN — to correct that deficiency," suggested Marckini.
The survey revealed that across the four major search properties — Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and AOL — just over 60 percent of respondents found an organic search result to be most relevant to the sample query. However, respondents preferred one type of search over another, depending on the property.
Most Relevant Search Result (Determined by % of Search Engine Users)
Property Organic Paid
Google 72.3% 27.7%
Yahoo! 60.8% 39.2%
MSN 28.8% 71.2%
AOL 50% 50%
Source: iProspect, Survey Sampling International, WebSurveyor, and Stratagem Research
The report speculates that Google and Yahoo! give their organic listings more prominence, or they may identify paid listings more clearly, therefore eliminating clicks from searchers who are mistrustful of ads.
Marckini continued, "Then again, attaining top-10 rankings in Google is hard work, and being found when someone searches is better than not being found. Again, even in light of the 70/30 split in Google, we advise clients to execute both a paid and organic strategy in Google. Some people who click on ads may not click on natural and vice-versa. Search marketing today requires that companies address the entire search result page, not just the left or the right side."
Top Online Search Destinations, March 2004 (U.S., Home and Work)
Property Unique Audience Active Reach Time per Person(hh:mm:ss)
Google 65,080,000 42.27% 0:30:06
Yahoo! 48,153,000 31.28% 0:12:05
MSN 44,919,000 29.18% 0:07:41
AOL 21,739,000 14.12% 0:14:58
Ask Jeeves 14,444,000 9.38% 0:07:40
Note: AutoSearch error pages have been removed from the rankings for MSN and Yahoo!. The sites in the above table that do not exclude
AutoSearch error pages consequently reflect higher audience traffic. Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, March 2004
"The iProspect Search Engine User Attitudes Survey makes it very clear that any strategy that does not integrate paid search advertising and natural search optimization is inadequate and leaves money on the table. The paid and natural search marketing campaigns must be executed simultaneously, hand-in-hand, and in a perfect world, have the same owner," concluded Marckini.
posted by Jen @ 5:50 AM
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