What is the correlation between Organic & PPC CTR?

[DentalPlanSEO]

I'm interested in finding research / studies on the correlation between organic and PPC CTR.

I've heard panelists at Search Engine Strategies conferences cite research stating that simultaneously ranking organically and serving PPC ads for the same KW increases the chance of getting click-throughs (versus being in organic OR PPC space only).

I think, but I'm not sure, that it might have been a comScore study but I haven't been able to find it on their site.

Is anyone familiar with this study (or a similar study)? If so, please point me in the right direction and include a link, if possible.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[icecarats]

In my opinion, if there is a measurable result it's probably going to come from the human factor as opposed to the technical/algorithmic. By human factor I mean actual organic patterns of behavior linked to see a result in both the paid and organic positions. I believe that people will 'trust' these more if they appear in both places, as they seem to be signals that are reinforcing each other. The organic result implies that this site is relevant and worthwhile. The paid result implies (rightly or wrongly) that this site is established and willing and able to pay for their position in the marketplace. The combination of these two factors, plus just the extra eyeball real estate of appearing twice on the same page, likely means you'll get more traffic. Keep in mind that this is just an opinion, and I haven't reviewed the article Simon Cullum helpfully linkedabove.

The technical/algorithmic aspect I mention above is more ambiguous; essentially 'does Google give sites that pay for CPC greater consideration in organic rankings?'. As has been mentioned nobody knows, and if they did that is a giant lawsuit/loss of trust waiting to happen. Because of this actual measurable factors that would indicate Google is doing this are going to be very very thin on the ground.

[SimonCullum]

Hi DentalPlanSEO,

There's a similar question here on SEOmoz from about a year ago that has some answers from SEOmoz staff which can be found at:  Effectiveness of simultaneous paid and natural results

There are a couple of links in the answers to a study and an article on this very topic, also worth a read.

Basically, there is no definitive yes or no answer to your question.  It varies from industry/sector to industry/sector and from brand to non-brand.  There are competition factors too as well as others.

Sometimes, there is an obvious positive correlation, I have personally seen it many times from using Hitwise to identify& analyze any effect of having both a natural and paid result both appearing highly.

Then again, many times, there appeared to be no difference in CTR whatsoever.

I'd suggest doing your own test (if budget allows) to see what works for your site and business.

I hope that helps,

Regards

Simon