As Google’s standard search results page has evolved from displaying ten organic links on the left and eight ads on the right to a more varied page (see example below), featuring more or fewer ads and different media types depending on the nature of the search, the old pattern of organic results receiving 70%-85% of all clicks has also gone by the wayside. In fact, recent WordStream research highlighted on eStrategy Trends reveals that, for keyword phrases with “high commercial intent,” almost two-thirds of all clicks are now on paid ads. Not testing. MORE >>

Metrics to Use: Open Rate, Click-Through Rate, Conversion Rate, Email Leads. PPC: Similarly, if you're utilizing pay-per-click advertising, test keyword variations and the landing pages you associate with them, too. Metrics to Use: Keyword Rank, Number of Monthly Searches for Specific Keywords, Organic Traffic, Inbound Links, (For PPC: Paid Traffic, Cost-per-Click). Test the look, feel, and wording of CTAs to determine which generates the most clicks and conversions. But email isn't the only thing you can test. MORE >>

At its current rate, Twitter will process almost 10 billion tweets in 2010. Social Marketing Lifts Organic Conversions by MarketingSherpa. ** 5 Stars. According to MarketingSherpa research, marketers working in social media report an average 27% conversion rate for organic search traffic, while those not using social media reported a 17% rate. However, Facebook and Twitter send the most-engaged traffic as measured by average viewing spent time per visitor. Email open rates continue to decline from 14% in the second half of 2007 to just 11.2% MORE >>

The Facebook ads that advertisers and marketers can use Facebook Exchange with are the traditional Facebook sidebar display ads, charged at cost-per-thousand-impressions -- not Sponsored Stories or mobile ads. As a whole, the data seems to indicate that FBX ads may be less expensive and generate higher clickthrough rates. Furthermore, they seem to generate higher post-click conversion rates compare to retargeted ads on other exchanges -- even Google’s AdX. Triggit indicated that its clients' FBX ads' post-click conversion rates were 2.2X MORE >>

We’ve put together a compelling list of ways you can improve your landing pages and conversions. Google AdWords determines cost-per-click in part based on the quality of your landing page. You can improve your score, and bring down your cost-per-click, by making sure your landing page’s content aligns with your ad messaging. Not only does this make acquiring leads less expensive, it also improves the effectiveness of your pages: customers who click on your ad will be get information relating directly to what they clicked on. MORE >>