Study Shows Searching Canadians Rarely Leave First Page, Occasionally Click Ads

Via One Degree, Ipsos Reid has released a study on search marketing in Canada that reaffirms the importance of search engine optimization but has some promising numbers for the effectiveness of search advertising. It doesn’t include any breakdowns on search engine market share, unfortunately. The most key but unsurprising statistic: “three-quarters of online Canadians indicate they can usually find what they are looking for on the first page of search results”. First page placement continues to be highly important; even if you’re on the top of the second page, 75% of searchers will never even see you.

In search advertising, 44% reported having clicked on an ad in search results, a higher number than might be expected. 29% reported clicking on an ad even when the regular search term appeared in results. This last statistic is a curious behavior, but will keep companies buying up their own search terms. For general engine satisfaction, 80% agreed that they were getting the best results from their engine of choice, and 66% agreed that the results were objective. Search engines remain a primary web destination for Canadians and they maintain a high level of confidence in them; just don’t expect them to dig too deep to find you .