Case Study: How To Lower Your CPC With Generic Domains

At Root Orange we are adamant believers that we only succeed if we help our clients succeed.  To that end, we put our generic domains to the SEM test: can generic domain names lower search engine marketing cost-per-click?

We partnered with a lawyer we contacted out of the blue Randi Vladimer, who runs a divorce and family law practice in the Main Line suburbs of Philadelphia.  She let us run SEM campaigns, on our dime, to see if generic domains worked to lower CPC costs for your typical small business.

In order to test the efficacy of the generic domain, we ran one Google AdWords campaign using her website's domain, and another campaign using the generic domain "DivorceLawyer.com".   Aside from the domain, we held every other variable constant in both campaigns: keywords, ad copy, bid price, and budget.  The results were astounding.

The generic display domain lowered CPC by 21% and increased CTR by 400%.  Our study replicated the results found by a 2009 British study, providing further confirmation that generic display URLs confer a competitive advantage to users in SEM campaigns.  We will release the full case study online in the coming weeks.