Non-branded keywords can help convert searchers to buyers, study says
Many marketers focus only on the conversion rate of their branded keywords, but using non-branded terms in the search trail can help convert shoppers unfamiliar with a brand, a new study from 360i and SearchIgnite says.
360i, a search marketing agency, and SearchIgnite, a provider search management technology, tracked the click path from initial click to sales conversion in a study that focused on more than 3.9 million searchers and 5.1 million clicks during the first quarter of this year.
The highest conversion rate—9.3%—occurred when the searcher’s first and last click in a search trail were on branded terms. But when the first click was on a non-branded term and the last click was on a brand, the conversion rate was nearly as high at 8.7%. Marketers who focus only on branded terms, the study said, run the risk of never growing their market share beyond searchers who recognize their brand.
“Marketers today cannot simply give credit to the last click,” said Dave Williams, chief strategist at 360i.
The study also found that conversion rise as searchers enter more unique keywords. Although searchers who used multiple unique keywords accounted for only 8.4% of the study sample, they accounted for 19% of transactions.
The study also indicated that the likelihood that searchers will convert rises when they view multiple ads from the same marketer. Searchers who click a marketer’s ads 10 times are three times more likely to make a purchase than are searchers who click an ad only once, it said.
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