Decoding the Synergy Between Paid and Organic Search for a Healthcare Technology Leader
Testing the complex relationship between brand paid and organic search strategies for maximum incrementality
Client: Healthcare Technology Company
Industry: Healthcare
Services: Paid Search, SEO, Attribution & Analytics
The Challenge
To determine if the client's paid brand search advertising was negatively impacting, or "cannibalizing," their organic brand search traffic, and to identify the optimal level of investment for incremental reach.
The client engaged Eyeful to analyze the complex relationship between their paid and organic search strategies. The core question was whether their investment in paid brand search was delivering genuinely new traffic or simply capturing clicks that would have otherwise come through organic search for free.
The Solution
Eyeful conducted an in-depth analysis of approximately 350 daily observations of the client's Google Ads and Google Search Console data from July 2024 to June 2025. By applying regression analysis, correlation analysis, and saturation modeling, we were able to quantify the impact of paid brand search spend on organic brand search clicks.
Key Findings
No Cannibalization Detected: The analysis found no evidence that paid brand search was harming organic performance. In fact, the data revealed a moderate positive relationship between the two. A regression analysis showed a positive slope of +2.24, indicating that as spending on paid brand search increased, organic clicks also tended to increase slightly.
Clear Incremental Value: A saturation model was developed, which explained approximately 72% of the variation in organic brand search clicks. This model demonstrated that there were significant incremental benefits to paid brand search spending up to a daily level of about $1,500-$2,000.
Point of Diminishing Returns: The analysis identified a "warning zone" for diminishing returns between $1,500 and $2,000 in daily spend. Beyond a daily spend of roughly $2,500, the data indicated that additional investment in paid brand search yielded minimal further benefit in terms of incremental organic clicks.
Identifying the Organic Ceiling: The data suggested a natural limit, or "ceiling," of around 4,000-4,100 daily organic clicks for branded search terms. This insight is crucial for setting realistic performance expectations. Spending beyond the point of incremental lift can still serve strategic purposes, such as defending against competitor ads, retargeting users, and dominating the search engine results page (SERP) for brand terms.
The Results
Based on these findings, Eyeful recommended that the client maintain a daily paid brand search spend in the range of $2,000-$3,000. This level was identified as the optimal range to capture incremental value without significant waste. The analysis confirmed that the client's current strategy was effective and not cannibalizing their organic traffic.
This data-driven analysis provided the healthcare technology client with the confidence to continue their paid brand search strategy. By understanding the precise relationship between their paid and organic efforts, they are now able to optimize their budget, maximize incremental reach, and maintain a dominant and defensive position on the SERP for their valuable brand terms. Eyeful continues to recommend ongoing monitoring of these dynamics to adapt to seasonal shifts in search demand.