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PR managers unanimously assert: the "clickability" or CTR (Click-Through Rate) of an ad heavily depends on the ad text, its position on the page, and its stylistic design. However, just under half (42%) of users consistently click on the first link offered by the search engine, while only about 8% reach the second one. Thus, the CTR for these two positions differs by more than 5 times. Even if the first two positions are swapped, the percentage ratio roughly remains the same, regardless of the ad text and the relevance of the found page.
This circumstance is certainly related to users' trust in leading search engines. The first position is perceived as the most relevant to the query. Its CTR significantly exceeds the similar indicator for contextual and banner advertising. For comparison, the typical "clickability" of an ad for dynamic advertising ranges from 0.1% to 3%, and only with serious organization and a professional approach can it go beyond this range.
In attempts to explain the phenomenon of the first place, two main hypotheses can be identified:
- Users have unlimited trust in the search engine, or they're simply too lazy to spend time refining the query and scrolling the page to find the most attractive ad.
- Leading search engines do an excellent job and provide the most relevant document for any user query.
The study by Thorsten Joachims and colleagues helped to clarify the situation a bit. A special script helped scientists rearrange the first two positions of search results and monitor the changing conversion rate. The first (default) ad was relevant to the query in 35% of cases, and the second (default) in 25%. When these two documents were rearranged using the script, the CTR of the first position changed from 42% to 35% with a constant relevance of 25%. The CTR of the second position (formerly the default first) changed from 8% to about 12%, while the document was undoubtedly more relevant to the query. The "clickability" indicator of the first position still greatly exceeded the similar indicator for the second.
Thus, the answer to why the first position so attracts users can most likely be attributed to the first hypothesis. People rarely resort to customizing the interface and changing the "default" settings.
Professionally engaged in search engine promotion of websites, our studio closely monitors the "clickability" of your ad, making improvements when necessary. When ordering internet advertising, we also recommend monitoring an important indicator CTB (Click-To-Buy), which is defined as the ratio of the number of buyers to the total number of website visitors.
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