Paid Placement in Search Engines

Consumer Search Insights.
In the below poll we didn't make any distinction between AdWords & organic SEO investments. If we did I am not sure how it would have impacted the voting.

How do you feel about people paying for placement in search engines?

Nearly 2 in 3 people dislike money manipulating search results.

response All (1201) 
I think it is deceptive 65.4% (+3.3 / -3.5)
It is good if it is relevant 34.6% (+3.5 / -3.3)

Women tend to dislike it slightly more than men.

answer Men (813)  Women (388) 
I think it is deceptive 63.6% (+3.6 / -3.8) 67.2% (+5.4 / -5.9)
It is good if it is relevant 36.4% (+3.8 / -3.6) 32.8% (+5.9 / -5.4)

Older people tend to think money influencing search is manipulative, as do younger people who have not had their idealism beaten out of them by the harshness of the world. However the people in the 25 to 34 range who grew up with the web tend to like paid search far more than other groups do.

response 18-24 year-olds (350)  25-34 year-olds (266)  35-44 year-olds (164)  45-54 year-olds (194)  55-64 year-olds (148)  65+ year-olds (80) 
I think it is deceptive 61.3% (+5.0 / -5.2) 47.9% (+6.6 / -6.6) 63.8% (+7.0 / -7.7) 72.5% (+5.8 / -6.7) 72.8% (+6.9 / -8.1) 70.6% (+9.9 / -12.3)
It is good if it is relevant 38.7% (+5.2 / -5.0) 52.1% (+6.6 / -6.6) 36.2% (+7.7 / -7.0) 27.5% (+6.7 / -5.8) 27.2% (+8.1 / -6.9) 29.4% (+12.3 / -9.9)

People in the south tend to dislike money influencing search than any other region & people out west are more accepting of it. Perhaps the audience from California is more likely to understand how search impacts the local economy?

answer The US Midwest (267)  The US Northeast (333)  The US South (355)  The US West (246) 
I think it is deceptive 64.3% (+6.9 / -7.5) 66.4% (+5.9 / -6.4) 69.5% (+5.6 / -6.2) 59.8% (+7.4 / -7.8)
It is good if it is relevant 35.7% (+7.5 / -6.9) 33.6% (+6.4 / -5.9) 30.5% (+6.2 / -5.6) 40.2% (+7.8 / -7.4)

Rural people dislike money influencing search more than urban people do.

response Urban areas (620)  Rural areas (109)  Suburban areas (460) 
I think it is deceptive 63.2% (+4.4 / -4.6) 70.9% (+8.9 / -10.8) 65.3% (+4.9 / -5.2)
It is good if it is relevant 36.8% (+4.6 / -4.4) 29.1% (+10.8 / -8.9) 34.7% (+5.2 / -4.9)

Income has essentially no impact on the perception of the influence of money in search (though there was insufficient data at the upper end of the income range).

response People earning $0-24K (135)  People earning $25-49K (675)  People earning $50-74K (307)  People earning $75-99K (71)  People earning $100-149K  People earning $150K+ 
I think it is deceptive 65.1% (+7.4 / -8.2) 65.8% (+4.3 / -4.6) 65.4% (+6.1 / -6.7) 66.5% (+9.2 / -10.7) Insufficient data Insufficient data
It is good if it is relevant 34.9% (+8.2 / -7.4) 34.2% (+4.6 / -4.3) 34.6% (+6.7 / -6.1) 33.5% (+10.7 / -9.2) Insufficient data Insufficient data
Published: April 10, 2012 by Aaron Wall in internet

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