Study: Use a mix of paid and organic search for maximum results

Study: Use a mix of paid and organic search for maximum results

Paid search is only slightly more effective than organic search when it comes to customer conversions, according to a study from digital marketing and analytics firm WebSideStory. The company studied median conversion rates for the first eight months of 2006 and found that paid search had a 3.4% conversion rate, compared to organic search's 3.13%. According to WebSideStory, the study shows that for search engine marketing to be most effective, advertisers need to use a mix of paid and organic search. The January-August study examined more than 57 million searches, according to the report.