iPROSPECT SURVEY FINDS SEARCH ENGINES BEAT ALL OTHER MEDIA FOR DRIVING VISITORS TO WEB SITES WITH 77% OF INTERNET USERS EMPLOYING SEARCH ENGINES TO FIND WEB SITES
Survey Also Reveals That Search Engine Usage Increases With Time Online
ARLINGTON, Mass., September 16, 2002 - iProspect ®, the Original™ Search Engine Positioning Firm, today announced results from a survey indicating that the majority (77%) of Internet users employ search engines more frequently than any other online media -- surpassing banner ads, Web links, e-mail links, and other forms of offline media as the leading vehicle for discovering Web sites. In addition, the survey found that 84% of Internet users who are online four or more hours each day reported they use search engines frequently to discover Web sites. In fact 81% of long-term Web users reported recurrent search engine use to find Web sites. Just 46% of that same group claimed to use Web links often when locating sites.
"Time and experience online drive Internet users to utilize search engines to locate Web sites, and with 91 percent of Web users going online daily, search engines are rapidly becoming key drivers of traffic to marketers` Web sites," said Dr. Amanda Watlington, Director of Research at iProspect. "The results demonstrate that Internet users, especially frequent users, recognize the value and efficacy of search engines, opting to utilize them instead of other forms of media."
The survey further found that banner ads are the least influential for driving Web site traffic. Merely 3% of Internet users claimed to use banner advertisements often when locating Web sites, followed by e-mail links (22%), offline media (30%), and Web links (42%).
"As the Web matures and Web marketing continues to evolve, the most effective forms of online media will prevail," said Fredrick Marckini, iProspect CEO. "It is increasingly important for marketers to maintain a presence within the major search properties for online visibility and attracting qualified Web traffic. At the same time, it is getting more difficult to achieve high rankings in the search engines. That`s where companies need the assistance of a search engine positioning firm."
About the Survey:
The iProspect survey was conceived by Dr. Amanda Watlington, Ph.D., Director of Research of iProspect and Fredrick Marckini, CEO/CTO of iProspect and author of the book, Search Engine Positioning (WordWare 2001). Completed in late May of 2002, there were 1,403 survey respondents. The iProspect survey was fielded by former Presidential Pollster, Dick Morris of Dick Morris Associates and Vote.com in New York City. The white paper from this survey titled, "Marketing Tactics of Big Brands Not Meeting Web User Expectations" including all findings and analysis, was compiled and analyzed by iProspect. The iProspect survey has been released and is available at this link: http://www.iprospect.com/branding-survey-pressroom2. Proper attribution requires that the survey is clearly identified as "The iProspect Search Engine Branding Survey."
About iProspect
iProspect, The Original™ Search Engine Positioning Firm, is the leading provider of professional services that improve clients` Web site visibility in major search engines and directories. Founded in 1996 by Fredrick Marckini, the company helps large, established organizations increase their online market reach through consulting on search engine optimization and query language research. iProspect pioneered the industry and works with the most recognized and successful brands in the world, including Marriott, Miller Brewing, The GM Card and Sharp Electronics. The company has published three books on search engine positioning including the seminal work, Achieving Top-10 Rankings in Internet Search Engines, and most recently, Search Engine Positioning. iProspect is located in Arlington, Mass., and can be reached at 1 800-522-1152, via e-mail at pr@iprospect.com, or on the Web at www.iprospect.com.
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