CTR, Average Position and CPC revisited

The relationship between Cost Per Click, Average Position and Click-Through Rate is very interesting. While the relationship between Average Position and Click-Through can be demonstrated without digging too deeply, looking at these factors with Cost Per Click as well requires more data.

The data discussed here was taken from a single keyword that maintained a consistent Quality Score. There were changes in Cost Per Click, Average Position and Click-Through. The data was taken from a few months of operation, and from just Google Search. The keyword experiences a high, stable level of activity, and did not experience any spikes of interest from advertising, PR or related news. Any shift in Click-Through, Cost Per Click and Average Position will probably only relate to changes in the other two variables.

The relationships between Click-Through and Position, Cost Per Click and position, and Click-Through and Cost Per Click exist, but do not appear to be very strong. Which of the three had the strongest relationship to the others was not clear either at this point. A quick look at correlation between all three variables showed the following:

Correlation coefficient of CTR, CPC and Average Position

For Average Position and Click-Through, Cost Per Click has the strongest relationship, even though it is not very strong. These figures are not conclusive however, but do serve as a guide to the relationship between Cost Per Click, Click-Through and Average Position.