Value of being ranked 1st as opposed to 2nd or 3rd

[Padraig]

I'd like to know if it's actually better to be ranked 1st rather than 3rd on Overture. I am in the top 3 for the keywords, which I think are pretty specific (e.g. 'freelance PHP developer'), but I'm not getting that many clicks. This particular set of keywords got 652 clicks in March, so I'm thinking if I had a 10% clickthrough I should be getting about 2 hits a day, but I'm not. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance :).

[msgraph]

Hi Padraig and Welcome To WebmasterWorld!

I'm trying to find a thread that was discussed here before on the same topic you brought up. A few people were talking about the different traffic levels on 1st - 3rd PPC positions. I think some actually said they get better conversions on the second or third than the first. Or that the second position is the worst.

Can't remember but I'll keep looking or maybe someone else has it flagged and can post it here.

[Hunter]

Here is one msgraph and Padraig:

[webmasterworld.com ]

[Marcia]

Thanks for that link Hunter, I've been trying to remember where that was covered. I do know from personal experience that the difference between a #1, #2 and #3 with regular Google serps can make a huge difference.

I do believe there's a difference between that and the PPC placement though, like at Overture. Also, it's something there's more control over with being able to adjust bid amounts with PPC, and a decision to make whether it's worthwhile to aim for #1 if there's much of a monetary difference.

I just went through some Overture figures for a site, and while there wasn't a huge spread in the total amount spent over a month for the spots, it wasn't very convincing that #1 is actually worth too much more, depending on the difference in cost.

I seem to remember someone saying that they'd actually had better results not being at #1 a while back. I think it was mentioned in a thread in this forum.

[nell]

I believe a statement was made that bid position #3 in Overture was the most cost effective and, therefore, the most competitive and difficult to maintain.
(Total exposure offered by Overture at the lowest cost.)

General search terms - #1 position

More specific search phrases - anywhere in top 5 with description and title being most important. The people searching here are buyers seeking a specific product. They won't just click on #1 and stop. They will go to several search results to find the best deal. This is where you need a short, fast loading page with a good eye-catching title & description.
The exception being Holiday season when there are many people who don't use the internet much to shop during the year. During Holiday season #1 rules.