earlpearl - 3:23 pm on Sep 27, 2006 (gmt 0)

Thanks Silvery. I'd love to see current research.

here is our experience. Approximately 30-33% of our search inquiries off of SE's fall into what we consider the most fertile contacts.

These searches are long tail consisting of 2 parts, variations of phrases on our biz service and variations on our regional territory. These phrases convert at the highest rates.

About 1/3 of the searches to our site are generic on our biz service. They don't include geo descriptions. (the site has high rankings fortunately). These convert but at not as high a rate.

We are a local service. We pull off searchers who haven't yet tried the long tail search for the service in our region. Because we are local though, we pull out searchers from all over the country and that doesn't do us or them any good. So those searches are not as productive.

The last 1/3 are other phrases and content off the site that aren't really there for conversions. C'est la vie.

We have some limited IYP exposure. We have tested how those phrases show in serps with an incredibly large number of searches. Essentially they are a subset of our large exposure in the initial 1/3. In that regard the long tail searches and IYP are similar.

Here is a little anecdotal incident from today. Already I picked up 2 calls from people who caught our site on the web.

One picked us up from a strong conversion link that is highly local and particularly appeals to people interested in our service from a certain angle. It works. The caller reiterated what has happened with thousands before him.

The 2nd caller caught us off a long tail search phrase that combines our geography with an underlying reason why people choose our service. The phrases are somewhat tangential to the specific service but are very motivating. They work.

I couldn't replicate either of those methods through any version of IYP.

Not to say that IYP is good or bad...but there are many ways to skin the cat.

Dave