Do Search Engines Drive Internet and Offline sales?
According to a recent article by Jason Miller, a reporter
for Web Pro News "MSN searchers were 48% more likely
to buy online than the average Internet user. His info was
based on a report from the month of June by comScore Networks,
Inc. The report also indicated that "Google users are
42% more likely" to buy than the average Internet users.
On the flip side of this good news was the lackluster ecommerce
involvement of AOL users, who were only 3% more likely to
make a purchase than the average Internet user. This is significant
to know because search engine users have been traditional
thought of as better potential customers than other types
of Internet traffic. Search engine users are proactively looking
for information with specifically targeted search terms, and
therefore are considered by many marketers as target direct
response driven prospects.
One theory is the reason MSN searchers may be more likely
to buy is that the majority of them are women (who many times
make more buying decisions for their families), while the
majority of Google users are men at 51%.
This theory doesn't really hold up because AOL subscribers
are 52% women, but who tend "NOT" to make many more
purchases than the average Internet user. Perhaps MSN users
are slightly more upscale than Google, Yahoo! or AOL users.
The comScore study also reiterated what a lot of recent studies
have shown by other sources. It indicates the more sophisticated
and complex search terms are, the more likely the searchers
using those terms will be inclined to make an online purchase.
Another interesting revelation in this article is that many
searchers (85%) made their purchases offline 5 to 12 weeks
after the initial search session. Only 15% made a purchase
during the first search session (which by the way is very
high because most websites have a initial conversion rate
of .5 - 1%).
It is because of these facts that search engine marketing
is debated as a direct marketing tool. Many would categorize
search engine marketing as more of a long term marketing strategy,
because their usage may precede a purchase by as much as 60
to 90 days. According to the comScore study most searches
(70%) started out as generic generalized terms and then became
more specific. Only about 20% of the search terms started
out as brand names like Sony, HP, or Dell.
It must be mentioned here however that closer to the buying
circle more brand names are used in searches.
A deeper look at the comScore study also showed that "search
played a role in roughly half of all online purchases."
The comScore study was commissioned by DoubleClick because
comScore had a panel of 1.5 million U.S. Internet consumers.
In is also interesting to note (in a different study) that
According to Hitwise, an online competitive intelligence service
search engines contributed greatly to the record traffic to
shopping and classified sites last Dec. 11th, 2004 of 9.73
percent). In other words search engines drove about 10% of
Holiday sales. The specific traffic drivers were Google (4.26
percent), Yahoo! (2.24 percent) and MSN 0.54.
According to the Hitwise research Google seems to drive retail
traffic of books, sports, fitness and music. Hitwise further
reveals "Yahoo! search is stronger in sending its shopping
referrals to: video and games, automotive, and classifieds".
MSN sends a higher share of its shopping referrals to Apparel
& Accessories, House & Garden, and Appliances &
Electronics".
Here are some other reasons to use search engine marketing
The Top 7 Reasons Your Site should have a Search Engine Marketing
Strategy.
47% of Internet traffic is driven from the search engines.
91% of Internet sales are first researched on the search
engines.
Search engine traffic is the best free way to position
your business to target ideal sales leads and customers.
Search engine traffic is more targeted and receptive to
your products and services. This is the case because unlike
traditional advertising search engine traffic is initiated
by the customer.
20% of search engine queries are for local traffic. Twice
as many people use search engines to find local businesses
as do use the local yellow pages.
Search engines are the cornerstones of any Internet marketing
campaign (I don't know any successful Internet marketer
that doesn't have a search engine marketing component to
their marketing).
Search engine traffic can be inexpensive or free but naturally
monetized with strategies like Google Adsense, link brokering,
and traditional advertising.
This definitely shows that search engine marketing is an
important part of the marketing mix of most companies - especially
in the retail industry. Search engine visibility may take
a few months to manifest themselves, but search engines without
a doubt drive sales down the info superhighway - showing us
the money along the way.
Kamau Austin Helps Small Businesses make more money
by using search engines as marketing and sales channels to
increase their business. He also publishes http://www.eInfoNEWS.com.
For more search engine news visit His New Jersey based site
http://www.SearchEnginePlan.com
