Why people search on click ads? And how to increase the CTR

Why do online users click on search ads?

Are they aware of the fact that they are clicking a search ad? Moreover, are they even aware of the difference between an organic listing and a paid ad. Surveys reveal that most consumers aren’t aware of the difference.

Having said that, there are certain factors that are always working in the background and affecting an average user’s decision of clicking an online ad.

In this blog post, we are going to explore some of the major reasons why people click on search ads and what you can do to improve the click-through rate (CTR).

What makes people click on search ads?

Clutch, a research firm, recently released the results of a new survey that explores what makes people click on search ads.

The survey took into accounts the feedback of 506 people. Here are the results.

 

How to increase the click-through rate (CTR)

75% of the survey participants who clicked on a paid ad search in the last 30 days said that ads make it easier to find the information they are searching for.

This highlights the importance of providing relevant information at the right time to the right people, including ad heading, description, timing, keyword selection, and audience targeting.

To increase the click-through rate, make sure that your ad appears relevant and informative to the people searching for information on the web. Unless the ads answer the searcher’s queries, they won’t be clicked.

As you can see in the above chart, people also like to click on ads that mention a familiar brand. It highlights the importance of building a brand and creating brand awareness.

It won’t happen in a day or two, but it’s more of a long-term goal that you always have to keep working towards. Keep establishing your brand, continue to build brand awareness, provide great service and products to the users, publish great content, and be active on social media channels to engage with your existing and potential customers.

Once the brand is established and become a respectable name in the industry, you can leverage it in the ads and get better click-through rates.

Surprisingly, having compelling titles, description, or images only account for approximately 19% clicks. However, don’t let this fact confuse you. Titles, description, and images are extremely important and are actually responsible for much more than just 19%.

How?

Because having the right title, description, or image will help searchers ascertain what a link holds for them. Unless the contents in the ad send a message that the ad contains the information they are looking for or answers the query better than the other search results, users will not click it.

You can include images that catch attention. Also, include keywords like “sale”, “deal”, “best”, “discount”, etc. to increase the perceived value and the click-through rate.

A few additional stats

The survey also revealed a few additional stats that online advertisers might find interesting.

• 49 percent of the survey participants revealed that they click on text ads.
• 16 percent responded that they click on video ads.
• 31 percent of people said that they click on Shopping ads.
• 77 percent of survey participants said they are confident that they can differentiate between search advertisements and organic listings in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
• 63 percent said that they’d click on a Google ad.
• 15 percent said that they’d click on an ad on Amazon.
• 9 percent said that they’d click on an ad on YouTube.
• 6 percent said that they’d click on an ad on Bing.

These stats do not really represent how click-through rates are affected.

Conclusion

By improving click-through rate — even by a percent or two — you can dramatically increase the profitability of your marketing campaigns.

By learning from the stats and tips mentioned in this article, you will be able to achieve a better click-through rate.