"Not only did the ads for these brokers get clicked regularly, but they were clicked more often than the organic results, which appeared very close to them on #1 of Google."
Many brokers believe that being at the top of #1 of Google's organic search results for relevant keyphrases is the most advantageous, but that may not be the case, according to a new analysis of two client campaigns carried out by lead generation firm, The Lead Engine.
In a recent campaign focused on mortgage advice for medical professionals, lasting six months, a Google Ad created by The Lead Engine for a keyphrase for which the client already ranked at the top of #1 of Google in the organic search results received an 18% click-through rate (CTR) over the term of the campaign. In other words, it was clicked almost once every five times it appeared.
In comparison, the link to the company's website at the top of the organic search results on Google (and appearing directly below the Google Ad) received a 9.38% CTR during the exact same time period. In other words, though it was free, the organic link was roughly half as effective as the paid link.
Over the same six-month period, another Google Ad for a client of The Lead Engine offering mortgage advice for a particular type of contractor received a 15.28% CTR, while the organic link to the client's website — again the top-ranking organic result on #1 of Google — had a lower CTR of 10.65%.
Alex Curtis, founder of The Lead Engine, commented: “It's rare to run an ad campaign with a keyphrase that you are already sitting at the top of page one of Google for in the organic results, but this research shows it's worth considering and shouldn't be ruled out.
"Not only did the ads for these brokers get clicked regularly, but they were clicked more often than the organic results, which appeared very close to them on #1 of Google. This shows that people aren't blind to Google Ads and that investing in SEO, while incredibly valuable, may not be essential to achieving success online.
"Based on this evidence, a good Google ad campaign can do the heavy lifting for you, although clearly your website then needs to deliver what the visitor wants to see to make it profitable."
