Marketers are managing their expectations when it comes to paid search. Nearly half say their primary goal in paying for a paid search campaign is driving traffic to their Web sites, but only three in ten list generating a direct sale from the click as their principal desired outcome, according to a new study from the Direct Marketing Association.
Beyond those two results, 5% attempt to lure surfers to sign up for a free trial. Getting surfers to sign up for offers, or subscribe to free e-newsletters or consent to receive sales information was cited by 3% each. Another 2% wanted to drive retail traffic, and 5% listed other goals.
Marketers still view traditional media channels as most likely to drive direct sales. Fifty-five percent expect to close a deal when using a telemarketing campaign, while half anticipate direct mail campaigns to yield sales. More foresee mobile campaigns as generating revenue (45%) than e-mail campaigns (38%).
“Paid search ads are a great way to drive traffic to your web site; and when a paid search ad is clicked on, it usually leads to a two- or three-step sales process,” DMA research manager Yory Wurmser said in a statement.
Among the study’s other findings:
E-mail to a house list averaged a 19.47% open rate; a 6.64% click-through rate; a 1.73% conversion rate; with a bounce-back rate of 3.72% and an unsubscribe rate of 0.77%.
Response rates for direct mail have held steady over the past four years. Letter-sized envelopes, for instance, had a response rate this year of 3.42% for a house list and 1.38% for a prospect list.
Catalogs had the lowest cost per lead/order of $47.61, just ahead of inserts at $47.69, e-mail at $53.85, and postcards $75.32.
Outbound telemarketing to prospects had the highest cost per order or lead of $309.25, but it also had the highest response rate from prospects of 6.16%. The highest response rate for a house list was also telephone, at 10.41%.
Paid search had an average cost per click of $3.79, with a 3.81% conversion rate. The conversion rate (after click) of internet display advertisements was slightly higher at 4.43%.
Response rates for B-to-B campaigns were generally higher than for B-to-C campaigns. Lead generation and high-end average sale campaigns also had higher response rates.
Nearly 60% of direct mail campaigns in financial services aimed to produce a direct sale. The average response rate was a comparatively low 2.66% to a house list and 1.01% to a prospect list.
These results are part of the DMA’s 2010 Response Rate Trend Report, which is based off 473 responses the organization e-mailed during March and April.