Paid Search Ads Now Get More Clicks Than Organic Listings

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Browsing for a new apartment to rent? Google it.
Trying to find a new vanity for the bathroom you are renovating? Google it.
Looking for a new hair salon to visit in your area? Google it.
Researching the best type of camera to buy? Google it.

It is no secret that the most common answer to many of the questions we have is to look it up online. So long are the days of having to go from store to store to find the best deal or call around all day to get the information we are looking for. Pretty much everything we want to see, know, or buy can now be found online.

This is fantastic news for your clients, customers, and consumers because it makes their lives just a little bit easier. But at the same time, this reality also emphasizes the importance of developing and implementing a solid SEO strategy. You need to know what and how people are searching so that you can create the content they are trying to find.

The Growth of Paid Ads
In order to make your website easily accessible for both users and search engine robots, it will always be important to continually focus on and refine your SEO strategy. This involves tracking your keywords, focusing on your link profile, ensuring that the backend of your website is constructed properly, and developing an effective content marketing strategy.

But, have you thought about your paid ad strategy as well?

Many businesses and organizations bring up an important question – Why should I spend money on paid ads when I can put in the effort to have my website show up organically? The answer to that is actually quite simple. Paid listings are becoming more and more dominant in the search engine results pages.

The following graphic demonstrates how the presence paid search ads have steadily increased over the last few years. 

Not only has the number of paid search ads increased, but the differentiation between paid and organic listings has also gotten more blurred. In fact, studies have revealed that half of adults do not recognize which listings in Google are ads, and roughly 70 percent of teenagers were unable to tell the difference between paid listings and actual search results.

When you look at the progression of the Google search results, it quickly becomes easy to see why…

 

 

With many paid search ads now getting more clicks than organic listings, it is important to revise your overall strategy to take advantage of these paid search opportunities. Contact the team at StoneFish to learn more about how this change will impact your internet marketing efforts.