DoubleClick 'Search Before the Purchase' Report Finds That One Out of Two Online Purchases Is Preceded by a Relevant Search
14 Februar 2005 - 3:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
DoubleClick 'Search Before the Purchase' Report Finds That One Out
of Two Online Purchases Is Preceded by a Relevant Search -- Study
Shows That Purchase-Related Searching Takes Place Long Before the
Transaction and Generic Search Terms Dominate Purchase Related
Research -- NEW YORK, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DoubleClick
Inc. (NASDAQ:DCLK), the leading provider of marketing solutions for
ad agencies, marketers and web publishers, today unveiled a new
study, Search Before the Purchase, in conjunction with comScore and
DoubleClick's search marketing division, Performics, to demonstrate
how consumers use search engines in the process of making purchases
online. The study, which analyzes pre-purchase search activity
across four categories (Apparel, Computer Hardware, Sports &
Fitness and Travel), showed that roughly half of all online
shoppers conducted related research at a search engine before
making an online purchase. It also found that most searchers
complete their purchase-related search activity weeks in advance of
the purchase transaction. While it is widely accepted that searches
that lead directly to a purchase are often brand-related search
queries, the study shows that brand names of online retailers were
in the minority of all the purchase- related searches made during
their shopping research. Key findings and takeaways of the study
included: Buyers conduct many related searches prior to a purchase
Overall, the study found that approximately one out of every two
online purchases is preceded by research on a search engine. In the
case of the travel segment, nearly three out of four travel buyers
consulted search engines before making a purchase. The number of
searches prior to purchase varies by category -- buyers on
fitness/sports sites conducted 2.5 relevant searches in the 12
weeks preceding a purchase; apparel buyers made 4.7 relevant
searches; computer hardware buyers, 4.9, and travel buyers averaged
6 relevant searches in the 12 weeks before their transaction. Many
buyers complete their relevant search activity well in advance of
purchase Although many marketers evaluate the success of search
marketing programs based only on clicks that lead to a purchase in
the same session or perhaps within a few days, most buyers complete
their purchase-related search engine research two or more weeks
before they make a purchase online. For example, in the travel
category, 64.7% of buyers' final searches occurred at least two
weeks before the purchase event; 21.6 % searched one week or more
before purchase, and only 23.8 % bought during the same session.
The majority of pre-purchase search activity (both searches and
clicks) involves generic terms Buyers clearly favor generic terms
early in the buying cycle - for example, "running shoes," as
opposed to a merchant brand. Brand-specific searches accounted for
only 18.1% to 28.5% of all searches those buyers conducted,
depending on the respective purchase categories. Further, the study
showed that a small minority of all the searches (4% or less for
each category) were for "Brand + Item Searches"; that is, compound
phrases that included a merchant's brands plus another term. Though
the volume of searches on these Brand + Item terms is low, they do
drive a comparatively high proportion of clicks per search,
relative to Brand and Generic searches: for Apparel sites, only 1%
of searches but 3.7% of clicks. Branded terms dominate search
activity closer to the purchase While the majority of search
activity across the full twelve weeks is generic, brand searches
and clicks become more prominent close to the purchase, peaking in
"same session" search activity (searches and clicks conducted in
the same session as the purchase). For example, in the case of
apparel buyers, 10% of all clicks occurred in the same session as
the purchase, and 89% of these clicks included a merchant's brand
(brand only or brand + item). Buyers in other categories followed
similar though less extreme patterns: 9% and 54% for computer
hardware, respectively, 9% and 49% for travel and 11% and 57% for
sport & fitness. However, buyers converting from a branded
search can mask the value of the prior generic searches in direct
ROI analyses. This study shows that the generic terms that dominate
related searches also lead to purchases and may provide an
opportunity for marketers to influence consumers. "The findings of
this milestone study suggest to marketers that there is an
opportunity to attract and engage searchers throughout the buying
cycle, and not only with their own branded keywords," said Stuart
Larkins, Vice President -- Partner Services, Performics, a division
of DoubleClick. "Marketers should track search click-throughs for
weeks prior to the purchase session to fully account for the
longitudinal impact of generic keywords in search. Generic keywords
provide greater reach for marketers and contribute to the overall
lift in a search program." Methodology Using its proprietary panel
of 1.5 million U.S. Internet users, comScore Networks identified
people who made a purchase at one of 30 web sites in four vertical
industries (Travel, Apparel, Computer Hardware or Sports/Fitness)
in the month of September, 2004. Merchants were selected for a high
volume of traffic and a homogenous set of products for sale. The
population of the survey included people ("buyers") who made a
purchase at a target site. The survey tracked search activity --
both searches and clicks -- of the buyers for 12 weeks preceding
the purchase (July -- September, 2004). Both searches and clicks
include all relevant search activity of the buyers and is not
limited to activity related to the 30 merchants in the four
categories. About DoubleClick Inc. DoubleClick is the leading
provider of solutions for advertising agencies, marketers and web
publishers to plan, execute and analyze their marketing programs.
DoubleClick's marketing solutions -- online advertising, search
engine marketing, affiliate marketing, email marketing, database
marketing, data management and marketing resource management --
help clients yield the highest return on their marketing dollar. In
addition, the company's marketing analytics tools help clients
measure performance within and across channels. DoubleClick Inc.
has global headquarters in New York City and maintains 22 offices
around the world. CONTACT: Jenny Connorton DoubleClick Inc.
212.381.5183 DATASOURCE: DoubleClick CONTACT: Jenny Connorton,
DoubleClick Inc., +1-212-381-5183, Web site:
http://www.doubleclick.com/
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