Web analytics firm WebSideStory released a study showing the following conversion stats across their many clients:
AOL traffic 6.17%
MSN traffic 6.03%
Yahoo traffic 4.07%
Google traffic 3.83%
Conversion Rate is defined as “the relationship between visitors to a web site and actions considered to be a ‘conversion’, such as a sale or request to receive more information”.
Responding to this study, MarketingSherpa said "Search optimization (SEO) is generally far less expensive than an aggressive paid search campaign to get the same amount of traffic. Plus, the effects are longer lasting, and conversions are frequently in the same range (or even higher) than paid ads on engines."
As our blog readers know, we've also been preaching the benefits of SEO over online advertising for quite some time. To read the complete MarketingSherpa response, visit their site.