Search activity before online purchase holds opportunity for marketers
The findings of a comScore Networks Inc. survey commissioned by DoubleClick Inc. challenge some basic assumptions about how people use search engines prior to making an online purchase. While some results of the survey that tracked consumers` search activity in the 12 weeks prior to purchase weren’t a surprise—one out of every two online purchases is preceded by research on a search engine—others were.
Among them: most online buyers complete their search engine research two or more weeks before they make a purchase online That contrasts with a widely-held practice that evaluates the success of search marketing campaigns only on clicks that lead to purchase in the same session or no more than a few days later.
“Marketers should track search click-throughs for weeks prior to the purchase session to fully account for the impact of generic keywords in search,” according to the report. That conclusion relates to another finding: that buyers favor generic terms in the early stages of the shopping cycle. Searches that included merchant’s branded names accounted for 18% to 28.5% of the searches conducted in the four categories studied—apparel, computer hardware, sports/fitness and travel.
Most searchers don’t use branded terms at all, even immediately prior to purchase, preferring to use generic terms all the way up until the final brand purchase. “Marketers should attempt to reach these buyers via broader keyword lists in paid search listings, deeper natural search page optimization and expanded product data feeds,” the report concludes. “Broadened reach creates brand awareness among new customers and helps prevent defection to competitive sites.”
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