Paid vs. Organic: Can Search Users Tell the Difference?

August 26, 2005

A new report released by Pew Internet and American Life Life studies how Americans perceive and use search engines, based on a survey of 2,200 adults ages 18 and over, conducted in May and June of 2004.

Among the findings, Pew discovers that many Internet users are not cognizant of the remarkable growth of paid search engine results during the past 5 years. In fact, almost two-thirds of Internet users who have used search engines are unaware that sites have paid and unpaid results.

Even among search engine users who are aware of the existence of paid listings, not all are able to tell whether the results they view are paid or not. Just 47% say that they are always able to tell, compared to 45% who say they are not.

In general, Pew finds that users don’t have a problem with the idea of paid results â€” 70% of those who have used search engines say they are fine with some paid results if it keeps the service free â€” but a significant amount â€” 45% â€” would stop using a search engine that didn’t clearly mark such ads (although 49% say they would continue using the service even if the presence of ads weren’t clear).

There is a certain danger for search engines in losing customers if the nature of their results is not clear. From the results cited above, it appears that many users have not noticed that search engines use paid results, though it’s not clear whether fault lies with the site or the user. But if a search engine is found to have not made its paid results distinct, it could find its business decreasing, and might face the ire of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which already warned search engines in 2001 that they needed to make paid search disclosures clearer.

How can search engines distinguish their paid search results better? Pew finds that most respondents, regardless of age, say that labeling such results with “paid” is the best solution. Alternatives, such as making such results a different color, putting them in a different section or providing a written explanation, tend to be more popular among Internet users ages 18 and under, but less popular among older age groups. Exactly 20% of the eldest users, ages 65 and over, say they don’t know or don’t have an answer. Of course, search engines might very well prefer to skim the line between clarity and confusion, since many users seem to not care or not to notice.

eMarketer predicts that paid search ad spending will continue to grow between 2005 and 2008, though at a slower pace than between 2001 and 2004. For example, while paid search ad spending increased by 210.2% between 2001 and 2002, between 2007 and 2008 it will increase only 12.8%.