Alias Urls for more traffic?

[talismon]

Hey,

We are #1 for our main keyword in Google. We also buy the #1 adword spot but use a different url. The theory is that we would get more clicks by using two different dnames, they both go to the same site. Other than losing a the "branding" aspect, does anyone see any negatives to doing this?

[veroxii]

Paying for clicks when you don't have to?

If someone clicks on you in the SERPs, but didn't like it. They go back to google and now click on the first adwords ad. Now you're out $1 and didn't gain any customers.

[eWhisper]

There is also an 'authority' aspect to consider. If a user sees you in position 1 in both sponsored and SERPs, you've built more of an authority status, which can help with CTRs for the natural and paid position.

[irish_john]

In Adwords, Google use CTR as a major factor in determining the rank of an ad. However has anyone considered that CTR may also be used in ranking the SERPS. So the more likely someone clicks on a site, the higher the CTR and the higher its rank in the SERPS.

Now however consider, you advertise as well. If some people instead click on your Adwords, then it may effect your CTR in the SERPS. Overtime if google use a CTR ranking algorithm as a factor in the SERPS, and didn't take into account adwords clicks for the same domain, your site may drop in the SERPS.

However this is all just speculation

[AdWordsAdvisor]

However has anyone considered that CTR may also be used in ranking the SERPS.

I've said a few times that I am not an authority regarding the SERPS, and that is still true. However, I will say that in nearly three years here at Google, I have never heard anything at all to indicate that CTR is monitored for the SERPS.

That'd certainly be a new one on me. ;)

AWA

[irish_john]

I think using effective CTR as an indicator in the SERPS could definitely be a useful variable for ranking purposes in the SERPS.

Imagine looking at your search engine results for Widgets, and if say the CTR of the 5th result was ten times higher than for the first, than, maybe the 5th result should be higher.

It would be like coming full circle. Taking some of the magic that make Adwords so successful, and coming full circle, and using some of the same ideas in the SERPS.

[suzyvirtual]

but CTR is only determined by how compeling tha ad is. with adwords, you have the advertiser spend vs the ROI to control how much they want the ad to appeal to people.

In the natural SERPs CTR would only encourage spammy people to have more compelling sounding listings, regardless of what content the surfer arrived at.

[mike_ppc]

Good point, Suzy.
Not to mention that in SERPs, the advertiser cannot control what ad text will appear for a certain search - and the ad is very important in Adwords - related to it's relevancy.
So I doubt that CTR should ever be a criterium in ranking for SERPs

[TravelSite]

talismon,

We're in a similar position to yourself - but we use the same domain. Our aims are to make sure that we appear in all the various country specific Google engines and also on its various partner sites (including those that only show adwords). Only with adwords can we achieve this.

I think that there are also some users who click on adwords first as adwords can be more targeted/relevant to what they are looking for than normal search results.

Using the one domain for both is fine - it simply gives the user a choice on where to click.

[talismon]

Thanks travelsite - so you think using the same dname is better than using two different ones?

[TravelSite]

talismon,

We only ever use the one domain for both listings and adwords and have not encountered any problems - but we focus a lot on branding. The best solution for you depends very much on your site/market.

An easy solution would be to use two adwords for your ad group - one with your normal domain and the other with the alternative domain. By doing this (and using a bit of tracking) you should be able to get an idea of which domain gets the most click-throughs/conversions for you.