Publication Data
Impact Of Ranking Of Organic Search Results On The Incrementality Of Search Ads
Abstract: In an earlier study, we reported that on average 89% of the
visits to the advertiser’s site from search ad clicks were incremental. In this
research, we examine how the ranking of an advertiser’s organic listings on the search
results page affects the incrementality of ad clicks expressed through Incremental Ad
Clicks (IAC) and as estimated by Search Ads Pause models. A meta-analysis of 390 Search
Ads Pause studies highlights the limited opportunity for clicks from organic search
results to substitute for ad clicks when the ads are turned off. On average, 81% of ad
impressions and 66% of ad clicks occur in the absence of an associated organic search
result. We find that having an associated organic search result in rank one does not
necessarily mean a low IAC. On average, 50% of the ad clicks that occur with a top rank
organic result are incremental, compared to 100% of the ad clicks being incremental in
the absence of an associated organic result.
