A Comparison of Google and Yahoo: Which is More Cost Effective When Using Sponsored Links for Small Companies?

Abstract

The following paper examines a small manufacturing company’s data from a Pay-per-click (PPC) campaign with Google and separately with Yahoo. For seven campaigns, the company allowed the same amount of money in the budget with both search engines during the same time period. Management wanted to identify the most cost effective search engine for their particular company. This is a crucial question to the small company working with a very tight budget and a small staff. Along with designing a proper web page, management has the control to develop good key words. They questioned whether their choice of keywords would lead to top billing on a pay-per-click venue of a search engine. They believed that top billing would lead to a better return-on-investment. The management of the company had the “gut feeling” that they got more for their money with Yahoo; the results highlighted in this paper tend to support that thesis. The paper is accessible to readers with a wide range of statistical expertise.