Shoppers ignore brands when searching - Article

[getvisible]

Just an interesting article re brand marketing. It can pay when done properly. The article doesn't take into account the relative competitiveness in the different marketing strategies, but still offers some interesting insights into user behaviour, especially in the light of the new LM.com cookie length etc.


By Robin Langford
Last modified 03-03-2005 10:58 AM
Half of all shoppers use search engines to inform their choice, but use generic search terms rather than brand names, according to a new study.

The study from Doubleclick of US shoppers examined pre-purchase search activity across four categories; Apparel, Computer Hardware, Sports & Fitness and Travel.
Shoppers on fitness/sports sites conducted 2.5 searches in the 12 weeks preceding a purchase; apparel buyers made 4.7 searches and computer hardware buyers made 4.9.

Travel buyers were the most search engine reliant, averaging 6 relevant searches in the 12 weeks before their transaction.
It also found that most searchers complete their searches weeks in advance of the purchase transaction.

In addition, the study found shoppers favouring generic terms early in the buying cycle, such as "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 categories.

Further, the study showed that a small minority of all the searches (4% or less for each category) were for brand and item searches combined. However, these search terms drive a comparatively high proportion of clicks per search, when compared with generic search terms.

The study also found that closer to the purchase branded terms dominated search activity. For example, in the case of apparel buyers, one in ten (10%) of all clicks occurred in the same session as the purchase, and nine in ten (89%) of these clicks included a merchant's brand name.

Stuart Larkins, vice president of partner services at Performics, said: "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," Larkins added.
The “Search Before the Purchase” report was carried out by marketing firm DoubleClick in conjunction with comScore and DoubleClick's search marketing division, Performics.

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 sectors. The survey tracked search activity - both searches and clicks - of the buyers for 12 weeks preceding the purchase.

Article here

[999gi]

"(89%) of these clicks included a merchant's brand name"

Interesting

I cant work out if they are talking about product brand (like "Bench") or shop brand (like "ASOS") or both.

[veroxii]

I'd imagine brand names such as "nike" or "fcuk".

It all makes sense though. Early on shoppers try to see what is out there, hence the generic terms. Then when they finally find exactly what they want, they come back again to search for the best deal on that specific item, hence the brand names. Comparison shopping in essence.

I guess what we take from this is that if you're bidding on generic terms, you'd better have a 12 week cookie, versus a really short cookie which would be sufficient from brand name keywords.

-V