Generic Domains Improve PPC Campaign Results
Many internet marketers have speculated that generic domains are favorable for
pay-per-click marketing because of their increased relevancy, however one domain name reseller has decided to
prove it.
MemorableDomains.co.uk, a seller of high quality generic domain
names, has released a study comparing three identical PPC ads featuring different domain names — one generic
name with an exact match to the product, one alternative generic, and one non-generic — to measure which style
of domain name attracts the most clicks.
First, the company developed and published an 11-page information-based minisite
dedicated to electric bicycles, a popular product group among environmentally-friendly travellers. It then used
three domain names to compare the results:
- ElectricBicycles.co.uk: an “ideal” matching generic
domain.
- YourBikes.co.uk: an alternative generic domain with some keyword
benefits.
- InAHurry.co.uk: a “traditional” coined, keyword-poor
domain.
After some keyword research and so forth, Memorable Domains set up a Google Adwords
campaign with two Ad Groups (one built around “bicycle” and “bicycles”, the other built around “bike” or
“bikes”) and tested three things:
- The overall Adwords performance of each domain name…
- The comparative Adwords performance of an “ideal” generic name when it closely
matches a set of relevant search terms…
- The comparative Adwords performance of an “ideal” generic name for a set of search
terms where other generic domains might be appropriate (such as “electric bikes”)…
Each website featured identical landing pages and minisites while each PPC ad used the
exact same copy and headline, only with a different display URL. The destination link for the ad headline
matched the display URL.
The campaign ran from February 10 to February 22, 2009 and produced the following
results:
Featured
Domain |
Impressions |
Clicks
|
CTR
|
CPC ($)
|
ElectricBicycles.co.uk |
38,404 |
907 |
2.36% |
0.2504 |
YourBikes.co.uk |
30.222 |
624 |
2.06% |
0.2531 |
InAHurry.co.uk |
26,718 |
443 |
1.66% |
0.2589 |
Even without optimizing the ad rotation within the campaign setup, Google favored the
generic domain by giving it 27% and 44% more impressions than the alternatives. This, added to producing a
higher CTR, meant that the generic domain produced 45% more clicks than the alternative generic and 105% more
than the keyword-poor domain names while also having a lower cost per click.
Read the full
report.
Improve your PPC campaign by checking our Available Domains for current
listings.
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