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Paid Search Is Not Much Better Than Unpaid Search

According to a recent study`s results, paid search is not much better than unpaid search in turning online shoppers to buyers. WebSideStory said that a conversion rate for paid search was just 9 percent higher than unpaid search.

Keywords bought on a pay-per-click basis at search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft MSN had a medium conversion rate of 3.4 percent, compared with 3.13 percent for unpaid results to search queries. Both forms of search were far above the overall conversion rate of about 2 percent for most e-commerce sites.

It`s not that the study`s results pointed out that paid search wasn`t worth the money, rather it showed that companies using online advertising should use a blend of available online marketing tools, such as paid search, banner ads, email marketing and search engine optimization techniques. Rand Schulman, chief marketing officer for WebSideStory, said: "Most people don`t understand that to get high conversion rates you need multiple touch points. It`s not just one or the other."