Click Through Rates and Search Classification - The AOL Data Revisited

When attempting to determine the return on investment for a search engine optimization campaign, an important factor is knowing the Click Through Rate (CTR) for each position on a Search Engine Results Page (SERP). One of the historically important sources of click through statistics is the 2006 AOL Data Logs.

An unexpected finding of the AOL data is the very large drop-off in click-throughs between the #1 position, with 42% of all click-throughs, and the #2 Position, with 12% of all click-throughs. A 71% drop! Because of this large drop, a company reaching the #1 position has been considered to have a huge competitive advantage over their competition.

But how accurate are the AOL numbers?

One of the assumptions made with the AOL data is that all searchers search the same way. For example, that someone searching for say "best Seattle chiropractor", searches the same way as someone searching for "JohnSmithChiropractic.com". To understand better click through rates and search patterns, the AOL Data was revisited and web searches were broken into five different classifications: Navigational, Informational, Goods and Services Searches, Comparison Shoppers and Buyers.

A personal blog or website SEO campaign is one thing, but when you are doing for the company's search engine completely changed the sport. These companies not only have many products and services, but they also have a large budget, which is why they are willing to spend a lot of money to important funding to promote their business.

A personal blog or website SEO campaign is one thing, but when you do for search engine company has completely changed the sport. These companies not only have many products and services.