The findings challenge a widely held belief that most consumers
begin the product search process by using a generic search term
(e.g. "plasma TV") and then later refine their search activity to
product-specific terms.
In actual fact, says the Overture sponsored study, while 85% of
searchers do indeed conduct additional searches later in the
shopping process, the majority of consumers continue to use the
same search term type (either generic or branded) with which they
began the search process.
Since 83% of consumers start their search process with a generic
term and only a relatively small percentage later search using a
product-specific term, on-line retailers or manufacturers that
invest solely in product-specific keywords will miss more than 80%
of consumer electronics or computer (CE/C) searchers.
The study, carried out by marketing consultancy comScore
Networks, analysed the timing of search engine usage and the role
of different search term categories in the shopping process among
internet users who conducted a CE/C search at one of the top 25
search engines in the first three months of this year.
It found that generic product search terms accounted for more
than 70% of total search volume, while trade marked retailer terms
such as "Best Buy" or "Gateway.com" accounted for 20% and specific
product terms, such as "Canon digital camcorder," accounted for
10%.
The study also found that while generic terms accounted for the
majority of purchase conversion (61%), branded terms (either
retailer or product terms) were approximately 30% more likely to
result in an on-line purchase.
"It's critical that retailers consider generic search terms as
an important part of their keyword strategy," said James Lamberti,
vice president of comScore Networks. "Marketers focused solely on
specific product terms known to convert directly will fail to
address the vast majority of consumers in the buy cycle."
comScore also found that generic search terms are likely to have
influenced even those consumers who converted to purchase after
conducting a retailer trade mark search. Fully 84% of these buyers
searched using a generic term earlier in the buying cycle,
reinforcing the importance of reaching consumers early in the
search process when they are defining their consideration set.
"This research supports the theory that all types of terms play
an important role in influencing the consumer's purchase decision,"
said Diane Rinaldo, director of strategic alliances at Yahoo!
subsidiary Overture. "With this new knowledge, marketers take a
major step toward better understanding the full impact of their
search advertising campaigns."
Among the other findings, the study revealed that 25% of
searchers ultimately purchased a CE/C product and that an estimated
92% of these purchases occurred off-line. Among the 8% of
post-search purchases that were made on-line, the vast majority
occurred in subsequent user sessions, and not directly after a
search click-through.
The study, which tracked on-line buying behaviour for 90 days
following a CE/C search, found that only 15% of on-line purchases
following a CE/C search occurred in the same user session as the
search itself, with 85% of conversions occurring in a latent (or
non-search) session. Additionally, nearly 40% of all purchases
occurred five to 12 weeks after the initial CE/C search was
conducted.
"These findings reinforce the importance of considering the
latent impact of search engine usage when evaluating search engine
marketing investments," said Lamberti. "Search cannot be thought of
as solely a direct response marketing tool, especially in highly
considered product categories where search activity can precede a
purchase by as much as 60 to 90 days."
