Are Google local results cutting into your CTR?

January 9, 2008 @ 7:49 pm · Filed under Google AdWords

For certain search engine result pages at Google, local results are displayed at the top of the listings alongside a Google map:

Google SERPs with Local Map Results 

I'm running some ad groups right now that according to past results should be generating much higher CTRs than they are. Curiously, the SERPs for the keywords in these ad groups are all displaying these local map results. CTR is unaffected on pages without these results.

My suspicion then is that local results are stealing focus away from AdWords ads, which in turn negatively affects click-throughs. This wouldn't be surprising: the map, pointers and star ratings are visually demanding. Once the user is finished looking at the local results, the tendency would be to scroll down, not up.

Is anyone else noticing lower CTR on SERPs with these local map results? 

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