How Ad Position and CTR Can Affect Your Conversions

The race for a higher quality score has pushed many digital advertisers to use unique and creative ways to win Google’s top spots. Yet, sometimes focusing too hard on ad position can come at the expense of relevant traffic. Focusing on CTR instead can, in fact, help you increase conversions without spending a fortune on excessive ad formats.

In this post, Joey Armstrong will briefly explore how ad position and CTR affect your site’s conversions. We will explain the difference between these two concepts and focus on a new approach that could actually increase your conversions without costing more money.

What is CTR?

CTR stands for ‘click-through rate’ and is a metric that measures the number of times a user clicks on a particular link or ad, divided by the total number of times that the link or ad was exposed to the user. In other words, CTR is a measure of how often users take the desired action when they see your ad or link.

A high CTR is usually a good sign that your ad or link is effective and relevant to your target audience. Similarly, a low CTR may indicate that your ad or link is not relevant to your audience, or that it is not being placed in front of the right people. There are a number of factors that can influence CTR, including:

• The placement of your ad or link
• The design of your ad or link
• The overall context of your marketing campaign

Brands often try to improve their CTR by targeting ads to specific audiences, creating effective and relevant copy, creating compelling and eye-catching visuals, testing different ad placements, and adjusting their bids to improve visibility.

Why CTR Matters More than Ad Position

Although your ad’s position can affect conversions, simply scoring Google’s top spot won’t always translate to an influx of new consumers. It simply means you created the most relevant copy. On the other hand, though, the higher your CTRs, the more likely you are to make conversions.

Data published by Matt Umbro found that sites with higher CTRs actually had lower costs-per-conversion, regardless of where they ranked on Google’s search results. His findings suggest that sites with higher CTRs succeeded because their keywords directly matched what buyers wanted. Without over-focusing on SEO requirements, brands were able to directly reach their target audiences and make sales.

So, based on these findings, it may be time to rethink your approach to SEO. Rather than simply aiming for Google’s top spot, companies should instead target their content to specific audiences who are sure to make a conversion. This method keeps costs down and translates into direct profit.

Final Thoughts

Although SEO has encouraged many businesses to create content that reaches Google’s top spot, recent data suggests that high CTR is more likely to affect your conversions than your ad’s position. Focus on developing targeted content that speaks to an audience, rather than simply reaching as many interested individuals as possible.