LucidSW - 3:00 pm on Sep 10, 2011 (gmt 0)

> Why not?

As I said, you want to be different, differentiate yourself. You may be right that the most prominent (ad on top) may be most likely to be clicked. But that means your ad must be more prominent. Then again, if they are next to each other, the tactic may backfire. Readers may think WTH and not click on any or click the second one. The point is, be smarter than your competitor and you have a greater chance at winning.

As for having an exact match domain to the keyword, yes, it may result in higher CTR as the domain will be bolded. The message however is not or should not be in your domain but your ad.

I remember reading something about one of the first thing people see or look at in an ad is the title (it's bigger) and then the domain. Not sure if that's true. I guess if you're Walmart or some other well-known brand it can influence click rate. But brownmenshoes.com?

> Have they said it anywhere?

Not that I can recall. They won't tell us everything and want to keep us guessing and judging from posts in multiple forums, they are doing a good job at doing that. It's not just logic but also observation.

Conversions are normally not 70% difference between ads. I multiply both rates and the higher the better. Your situation is an exception. Yes, Ad 1 despite lower much CTR is the better producer with its much higher conversion rate, but not by that much. Using rough figures of 15%, 25% and 70%, I came up with just a 2% difference. Your actual numbers show a more significant 6%.

I don't think the number of sales so far gives a confidence level high enough to choose one over another. But it's close to getting there.

Your case is the exception because of the much higher conversion. I guess I'd go with Ad 1. But I'd also test more ads, combining the best elements of both into one and testing other variations. That's really the name of the game. You may get a 20% CTR but with a conversion rate of 10% which would be better. Even 7% conversion at 20% CTR would be better. FWIW, I hardly ever use price in the ad but if it works for you.