What is your click through % rate?

industry standard clickthrough rates

[Alphawolf]

Just started on Overture last week. I was wondering what the industry standards are to term success in % of click through?

Sure. It will vary by industry a lot.

I'm in some high volume terms and the highest click though I'm getting is 1.4%

The ST's I am active in have 15,000, 11,000 and 10,000 searches as per January.

The ST without being specifc is "[insert service] company"

and a couple of variations of that...

Is 1.4% click through horrible? I just launched a promotion and overture actually approved my new listing with the promotional specifics in the title. :)

Curious to see if it spikes up. I haven't noticed much difference in positions 1-4 click though or changing of title/content.

Would such a broad search term be expected to do any better/worse than 1.4% click though?

Looked at a client's Overture stats for last month and his industry is very specific...only 3 search term variations. So, he gets a low of 2.2% click though and high of 8.8% for last month.

Just wondering what I could do better?

I cannot stay in #1 position for more than 30 minutes...even at 3:30AM EST! Another company must monitor constantly and they _always_ outbid me within a few mintes....stopped trying.

My ST actually lists 4 instead of 3, and I sort of prefer position 4 to 2 or 3 because it's just above the natural listings.

Does that make any sense? :)

TIA for reading my ramblings...

AW

[webdiversity]

Alphawolf,

As you rightly pointed out it will vary from industry to industry, and if you find a nugget, you could get a very high percentage of the traffic.

Some samples of stuff we have been involved with. I've tried to benchmark against the ones that have > 10,000 searches to give you a decent comparison.

13,500 searches 2.1%
13,800 searches 2.7%
13,606 searches 3.3%
44,135 searches 3.7%
30,673 searches 4.9%
18,812 searches 3.2%

There were others that were double figure % but generally speaking there was little or no competition for those and you would have been disappointed not to get high numbers.

[JayC]

I wouldn't get too hung up on comparing your CTR with someone else's, if you don't know the specifics of their ad and what terms they're targeting. Even within the same industry they'll vary a lot. Remember that there are many different types of ads, and different goals.

For example, you might place an ad with a product price that will get a lower clickthru rate than your competitor's ad that doesn't have one -- but you may have a higher conversion rate on your clickthrus because you've prequalified your visitors.

The goal isn't always to get the highest clickthru rate possible, and having a higher CTR than someone else doesn't always mean you're more "successful."

[cfx211]

We have 18-25% click through rates, but we are just offering subject specific content that only requires a free signup and that no one else offers.

[martinibuster]

I agree about the prequalified advertisers. I write my ads so as to screen out the surfers who may be led to believe I'm offering what they want, even though I may not.

I see a big difference in click-thrus depending on the copy I'm using.

[tbear]

Totally agree with the above comments.
When I used Google's ads last year after setting up a new site I was getting somewhere around 32% clickthrough, but that was in a clearly defined local area market, with the ads refined as much as possible to appeal to customers of the client's product.

[Alphawolf]

Thanks foer the replies.

My % rate went up a bit. It is what it is. :)

AW

[digitalghost]

>>I see a big difference in click-thrus depending on the copy I'm using.

That's a point that can't be emphasized enough. Copy should be tested and discarded or retained according to the ROI. Changing a single word can improve the click-thru by a full percentage point or more.

Now if they would just offer a program that would allow you to target certain areas of the country at certain times... :)

[edited by: digitalghost at 1:30 am (utc) on Mar. 12, 2003]

[Crazy_Fool]

>>Just wondering what I could do better?

more terms - look at the less used terms and you'll find others that your competitors haven't signed up to. finding these is even better with the new Add Listings thing where they suggest a number of terms and show the searches / clickthroughs / bids etc.

see if you can work the search term to encourage more clickthroughs. when they hit your site, make sure it's what they want to see / buy etc and do whatever to keep them there to make the sale.

[Alphawolf]

digitalghost,

>>>That's a point that can't be emphasized enough. Copy should be tested and discarded or retained according to the ROI. Changing a single word can improve the click-thru by a full percentage point or more.<<<

How can one tell if it's the copy that did it or simply the whim of the market and/or competition clicks checking out what you are doing differently?

Example- My average clickthough is 1.4% on a phrase. That comes to a tad over 1 click per day. I changedmy copy and got an actual % number for a discount promotion I'm having listed in the title. That went live Sunday. Monday had similar clicks.

Yesterday I got 5 clicks on that phrase.

Now, is that due to the copy change- probably...but is it potential clients or competitors checking me out?

OR- the fact that the company who never let me get into a #1 slot dropped off for the day boosting me to #1 from #2?

Guess only time will tell. My ROI is horrible.

I tried to patch up my current site best I could- but it's just a porr lead generator.

I'm working on a new site that should generate more requests. Actually, my current site has generated ZERO requests for information/quotation.

Just 1 fake request for quotation and a lot of 'private' or 'out of area' phone calls from competitors.

Someone had the audacity to leave a message stating the were from a University doing a "case study" and wanted to know what an example of my services would cost..for a "case study". Guy was clearly on a cell phone while leaving the message.

I wish SEO was as easy for web designers as it is for many clients. One of my clients *should* get to a Top 5 or higher Google listing for a phrase he pays $6/click for next update.

Oh, well..such is life. :)

AW

[Alphawolf]

Crazy_Fool,

>>>more terms - look at the less used terms and you'll find others that your competitors haven't signed up to. <<<

Oh- I studied and tracked possible terms for 6 months. Edit if need be here - I'm in web design and related services. So, if there is a phrase...others have found it.

My site is very poor as a sales tool right now, though it makes a nice reference site. Will have a new site in appx 1 week.

>>>finding these is even better with the new Add Listings thing where they suggest a number of terms and show the searches / clickthroughs / bids etc.<<<

I know what you mean. I really haven't found any 'golden phrases'. Those that may get overall low traffic like regional phrases, DO return higher click through rates, but are expensive.

Not worth the initial "competition click penalty" when you're a newbie and break into the Top 3.

>>>see if you can work the search term to encourage more clickthroughs. when they hit your site, make sure it's what they want to see / buy etc and do whatever to keep them there to make the sale.<<<

Well, the competition is huge and well informed...probably some right here on this board. :-)

I have found some really sweet key phrases for clients, but for me...it's a matter of tweaking copy and getting the new site up ASAP.

AW