Search advertising is already orders of magnitude more effective than display ads. However, there is further opportunity to optimize the type of search marketing done -- from paid search to organic search optimization, to site search.

1. Search (ads, organic)
Paid Search
Site Search
• Useful when there
is lack of natural
search results.
• Cost efficient
because advertiser
pays when they
gett the clisk.
CTR
Organic Search
• Takes time to
accomplish – for
results to rise up to
first page.
• Long lasting payoff
that does not end
when media dollars
are turned off.
• Useful in
harvesting demand
that is already
expressed – visitor
already on site.
• Insights about what
they cannot find.
10-90%
100%
1-10%
Shift allocation to get more long term value, lower cost
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Augustine Fou

2. So What?
“In addition to shifting dollars from „reach and
frequency‟ type ads like display ads to
search, advertisers can further optimize their use
of the different types of search. Improving
organic search and site search can have a more
direct impact on ROI and a longer term effect
than paid search which is over once budgets run
dry.”
- Dr. Augustine Fou
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Augustine Fou

3. Dr. Augustine Fou – Chief Digital Strategist
“I advise clients on benchmarking and
then optimizing their digital marketing
activities, with a focus on search
optimization and integration with the
broader marketing mix.”
FORMER CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER, HCG (OMNICOM)
MCKINSEY CONSULTANT
CLIENT SIDE / AGENCY SIDE EXPERIENCE
PROFESSOR AND COLUMNIST
ENTREPRENEUR / SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
PHD MATERIALS SCIENCE (MIT '95) AT AGE 23
ClickZ Articles: http://www.clickz.com/author/1151/augustine-fou
Slideshares: http://www.slideshare.net/augustinefou
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/augustinefou
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Augustine Fou

4. Related Articles
State of Online Video Ads
By: Augustine Fou, December 2013
Brand Dollars Shifting to Digital
By: Augustine Fou, December 2013
Why Digital Kicks Traditional
By: Augustine Fou, March 2012
Shift of Ad Dollars Within Digital
By: Augustine Fou, March 2013
Video Ads Destroy TV Ads
By: Augustine Fou, April 2012
The Magnitude of Digital Ad Fraud
By: Augustine Fou, November 2013
Mythbusting Advertising
By: Augustine Fou, June 2012
The Biggest Lies of TV Advertising
By: Augustine Fou, May 2012
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Augustine Fou

5. APPENDIX
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Augustine Fou

6. Search Benchmarks
Paid/ SEM
Organic
For long
tail, descriptive
keywords
share of clicks
CTR
CPC
1-2 words
4.8%
$0.51
For brand terms
and expensive
keywords
6 - 10%
3-4 words
5.1%
$0.54
90 - 94%
5-6 words
5.6%
$0.60
13 - 69%
FREE
Source: SlingShot SEO
Shift budget to organic to get more clicks at lower cost
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Augustine Fou

7. Paid Search vs Organic (SEO)
Distribution of Search Clicks
SEO
89.5%
PPC
10.5%
Distribution of Marketing Spend
SEO
10.8%
$1.4B
PPC
88.8%
$11.9B
13%
$2.2B
87%
Est 2012 figures
$14.7B
2009 figures
Clicks from organic search (SEO) account for 90% of all clicks;
yet budgets for SEO only account for a little over 10% of the
search spending.
Source: SEMPO
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Augustine Fou

8. Paid vs Natural Click Distribution
94% of clicks go to natural search results
6% of clicks go to paid search results
Source: Search Engine Watch, August 2012
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Augustine Fou

9. Click Through Rates (CTRs)
of Digital Ads with sub-types
Search
Display ads are
served next to
content that the
user is interested
in.
Display ads with
massive number
of impressions;
“Junk” quality
and super-low
prices and CTRs
Organic
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Social
Ads are based on
keyword typed by
user, served at the
moment they are
looking for info.
CTR
Display
Paid
Portals
Network
10-90%
1-10%
0.1-1%
0.01-0.1%
0.001-0.01%
Augustine Fou

10. Natural CTR by Industry
Top 3 organic results
Airlines
Broadcast
Financial
Online Games
Auto Manuf
Apparel/Beauty
Cellular
Government
Mass Merch
Corporate
Hardware
Current Events
Food/Cooking
Software
Home/Garden
Consumer Electr
78%
64%
64%
61%
60%
58%
56%
55%
55%
53%
51%
50%
46%
44%
42%
39%
11%
9%
12%
12%
19%
11%
15%
15%
8%
12%
17%
10%
17%
20%
9%
9%
4%
9%
5%
8%
6%
4%
7%
10%
7%
8%
8%
8%
9%
8%
9%
8%
Source: Search Engine Watch, August 2012
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Augustine Fou