How One Sponsored Slot Can Reduce Competitor Click Share by Double Digits
In telecom comparisons, sponsored placements don’t add demand—they redistribute it, lifting one provider’s clicks while others lose share.
Telecom comparison pages are some of the most competitive environments online. Users move fast, scan aggressively, and rarely read everything.
That makes visual hierarchy incredibly powerful.
Example: Sponsored placement impact in telecom
In an observed telecom category:
A provider with sponsored visibility saw its total clicks increase by ~25–40%
Competitors experienced click-share reductions ranging from ~5–18%
The biggest losses were typically seen by providers ranked just below the sponsored brand
This is a zero-sum effect:
The sponsored provider didn’t just gain — others lost.
Ads don’t just get clicked — they influence scrolling behaviour
What surprised many teams is where the uplift came from.
Observed breakdown:
~40–50% of the uplift came from the sponsored placement itself
~50–60% came from organic deal clicks further down the page
Users often:
Notice the brand at the top
Scroll to compare plans
Click the same brand organically once pricing and data allowances are visible
This creates a halo lift of ~15–25% in organic clicks, even though those listings were not sponsored.
Why telecom competitors feel the pressure faster
Telecom products are:
Highly substitutable
Price-comparable
Decided quickly
That makes them extremely sensitive to first exposure.
When one provider captures early attention, competitors lose:
Initial consideration
Secondary clicks
Repeat exposure across related pages
Key takeaway
In telecom, a single sponsored placement can increase total clicks by 25–40%, while reducing competitor click share by up to 15% per brand, with over half of the uplift coming from organic (non-ad) listings.