A new study by Engine Ready helps enlighten businesses that are contemplating that same question. Assuming that maximizing sales is their primary business objective, the results are rather intriguing.

The study concluded June 30 of this year and is based on traffic to 26 e-retail sites during a 12-month period. The study identified and used four primary traffic source categories:

1. Organic Results
2. Sponsored or Paid Results
3. Direct or Bookmarks
4. Other Referrer (possibly social media)

Some of the top findings from the Study:

• Visitors who arrive from Paid Search Ads are 50% more likely to purchase than those clicking on Organic Results.
• Conversion Rate was 2.03% for Paid Search versus 1.26% for Organic Search.
• Direct access produced the most visitors at 40% other referring sites and email were at 28% while paid search had 20% and organic search 12%.
• Paid Search visitors spent the most. Average order amount for a paid search visitor was $117.06 versus $109.27 for those coming from other sites, $106.64 per order on average from Organic visitors and $95.29 for direct visitors.

What can we take from this study? Paid Search performed well. Paid Search (SEM) ranking best for average order value and conversion rate is a big deal. Reasoning?  SEM’s strong call to action in the description section could play a factor. So could the ability to enhance and optimize individual ads for individual products. As we mentioned last week, it is important to optimize your meta descriptions for SEO and a strong call to action should be a part of that.

What’s your take on the study?

New York Times Take on the Study

On, On, U of K

Bring Home The Victory

The best part- the billboards will sing the fight song to you from up to a mile away in Lexington and Louisville. How? The billboards are equipped with radio transmitters and a recording of the Fight Song will play around the clock on the radio frequency. The trick? Finding the correct radio frequency. This campaign counts on the frenzy that is the University of Kentucky athletic fanbase. Hopes are that word of the billboards and radio frequency will be found on message boards, chat rooms and blogs for all UK fans to see.

Fan engagement and the integration of advertising mediums sets this campaign apart.

Cornett-IMS also devised a scavenger hunt around the billboards that rewards the winner with a pair of 2009 season tickets. The fan must find and photograph the entire campaign for the tickets.

Do you know the radio frequency for any of the boards? If so, comment below and let us know.

Mediapost- Campaign Summary