A survey by Clutch of 506 people who said they have clicked on a paid search ad in the past month has produced interesting findings as to why people click on paid search ads.

Top 4 reasons people click on paid search ads:

1. Ad directly answers their search query (33%)
2. Ad mentions a familiar brand (26%)
3. Ad appears above other search results (20%)
4. Ad contains a compelling title, description or image (19%)

And also:

• 75% said paid search ads make it easier to find the information they're looking for on a search engine.
• 63% are most likely to click on paid ads on Google (vs. 15% Amazon, 9% YouTube, 6% Bing).
• 55% who click on Google paid ads prefer text ads to shopping/product ads or video ads.
• Presence in paid search ads is important for mobile since organic listings tend to appear "below the fold".

Survey population:

• 506 individuals
• 66% women
• Age groups:
  • 53% 18-35
  • 36% 35-54
  • 11% 55+
• 77% said they're confident of being able to identify paid search ads.

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Important takeaways:

• You need to know how potential customers phrase their search queries when looking for stuff like yours, and word paid ads accordingly.
• If your brand is a familiar one, or if you have some credible connection to someone else's familiar brand, mention it in your ad.
• You'll get the biggest bang for your buck with Google Ads vs. Amazon, YouTube, Bing.
• Paid ads being above organic listings has advantages, especially with mobile users.
• Use text ads on Google.
• Write compelling ads with solid relevance to both the keywords you're buying and the landing page linked from the ad - for higher Google quality scores and higher ad placement at lower cost per click.

Caveats re Clutch numbers:

1. Small sample size.
2. Age is skewed to under 35, which may or may not apply to your prospects.
3. 77% being able to recognize paid ads is inconsistent with other research that finds fewer than 50% of people can do that.

Still, that's useful research - and further confirmation of Google's dominance in search.