Why Stop Paying Once You Have Organic Top Positions?

[Peter (IMC)]

Is it true that once you obtained the first position in the organic results, you can stop paying for that keyword in Adwords?

Most would say yes, but the reality is that the searcher isn't specifically searching for your website. He´s just searching for what's in your website. The problem is that he can probably find it in a bunch of other websites too, and those websites show up too in the organic results and the paid results.

In the end, what matters is cost per conversion. Once you have obtained top positions in the organic results, the costs per conversion will drop significantly while the costs per conversion from paid results will remain the same. That seems to say: Stop Paying for Adwords! But is that really the smart thing to do?

The reality is that cost per conversion isn't really the end. The real end is the overal profit you make, and if Adwords can add 20% to the over all profit, then there's no reason to stop using Adwords. Even if it means that your profit per sale on adwords related sales is a bit lower. Of course, if those additional sales end up in having to increase capacity and with that the cost per product (at least in the beginning), then you may want to consider not using Adwords. Overall profit is what makes the decision.

2 links in the SERP (organic + PPC) increases the chances your link is clicked on. Taking one of those links out, automatically means the chance somebody will visit your site reduces as well. That is because for a given SERP, there are so many searches done and so many clicks available. These clicks are devided over all links in the SERP (Organic + PPC). People won't stop clicking PPC links when your site isn't showing there anymore.

So do you really want to stop paying for Adword clicks once you reached your SEO goals?

[mjtaylor]

Excellent points.

I have a client who was for many years #1 for Key West Fishing (now he hovers in the top 5) on Google. We have always run Adwords. A few years ago his boat burned so we pulled the ads for the charters while he searched for a new one. During the off time, his inquiries fell by more than a half. Since then I have always recommended clients keep their PPC campaigns no matter how well they perform in the organic returns.

Not too very long ago a real estate client that also ranks top 5 for their most relevant term, decided to pull their PPC to reduce costs ... traffic and conversions fell considerably, though not by half.

It's about repetition. It's about reducing the competition on the first screen. It's about appearing to be successful. If a company appears in both the free results and the ads, that suggests success and buyers can smell that sweet aroma!

Great thread, Peter!

[hpham]

I am learning about Google Adwords now, and just want to say: it's a great thread

Thanks!

[nottheusual1]

We have a retail promotional products client that has achieved top-2 organic placement for all of their most expensive keywords and keyword sets. About 80% are top placement.

While having reduced overall PPC "volume", PPC costs have risen as the market moves into a heavy season, but at a lower rate than last year, so we see that as a positive.

The bulk of saved funds were just shifted to augment the strategy that got the top placements. This strategy is less expensive in the long-term, though, as it isn't something that has to be "always on".

Meanwhile, order acquisition/conversion costs are steadily dropping - which is a healthy sign.

So, you can reduce the volume of PPC advertising you need to do, but you have to find the balance - because you are right in pointing out that all you are really doing is increasing the **likelihood** that you get a click - organic or PPC.

Here's relevant info from a 2006 user search engine interaction survey - it says a lot of very basic things that every SEO-type should keep in mind when developing strategies:

Search Engine Marketing Research: iProspect Search Engine User Behavior Study

[dburdon]

Peter,

I have several examples of no.1 organic rankings sit below Adwords placements in the cream box. Generally the paid slot out performs the organic slot.

[cw1865]

To what extent do you feel that you're paying to acquire a lead/sale that you would've gotten anyway?

[Peter (IMC)]

Originally Posted by dburdon

Peter,

I have several examples of no.1 organic rankings sit below Adwords placements in the cream box. Generally the paid slot out performs the organic slot.

I have this experience too. I think it has to do with the text in the ad. Even if you didn't optimize the adwords account, it was still written by the same person (company) and thus is more likely to be a match with the landing page. Also an important factor is that the ads are more salesy which would impress you more when you´re already looking to buy that product.

In the organic results you don't have that much control about the text in the snippet, so it is more likely to be clicked by everybody, while the ads are more likely to be clicked by buyers. Hense the better performance.

[Peter (IMC)]

Originally Posted by cw1865

To what extent do you feel that you're paying to acquire a lead/sale that you would've gotten anyway?

I don't feel like that at all. It's simply not correct to assume that a click on an ad would transfer to the organic link when you switch off your ad. (It would be even more wrong (arrogant even) to assume that that click would then automatically transfer to your organic link)

Suppose you have an ad and an organic position in the same SERP. Suppose also that 50 % of sales come from the ad and 50% of sales come from the organic position. When you switch off your ad, your sales will drop about 50%. Ask anybody that has an ad and organic position in the same SERP to test this and they will tell you they lost sales.

It actually makes sense.... A certain percentage of clicks will go to the ads, removing an ad (or adding one for that matter) won't affect that percentage enough to make a significant difference.

It's not about getting the clicks either left or right, but about getting most clicks on both sides. However, on the paid side you need to make sure the cost per conversion is as low as possible.

[cw1865]

Originally Posted by Peter (IMC)

I don't feel like that at all. It's simply not correct to assume that a click on an ad would transfer to the organic link when you switch off your ad. (It would be even more wrong (arrogant even) to assume that that click would then automatically transfer to your organic link)

Of course, but SOME percentage of the customers converting through the paid ad would have been converted through the organic ad, and ultimately that is what I am asking, does he happen to know that percentage? He obviously feels, and he is obviously in the best position to determine, that the strategy is profitable otherwise he would not continue it; I'm not challenging his strategy just inquiring about the results.....

[rudy102]

Great thread Peter and all with the valid points for marketing with both organic and PPC.

[deepsand]

Originally Posted by cw1865

Of course, but SOME percentage of the customers converting through the paid ad would have been converted through the organic ad, and ultimately that is what I am asking, does he happen to know that percentage? He obviously feels, and he is obviously in the best position to determine, that the strategy is profitable otherwise he would not continue it; I'm not challenging his strategy just inquiring about the results.....

It's more accurate to say that "some percentage of the customers converting through the paid ad may have converted through the organic listing." People do understand that the latter is not an advertisement.

When shopping, most have come to understand that the organic results contain a great number of listings that, while being perhaps related in some fashion to the good or service they seek to purchase, do not necessarily offer such for sale. On the other hand, they have learned that advertisements are generally placed by those who do have something to sell.

The expectation is, therefore, that advertisements are the more likely to lead them to their goal in the least amount of time.