INMA_A01.QXD

three sites listed in the results from a search, but the figure and the box ‘Understanding

consumer search engine behaviour’ show that some visitors can still be delivered from

lower rankings.

CHAPTER 8· INTERACTIVE MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

Figure 8.13Percentage who consider the different information sources as important

when researching or considering a product or service

Source: BrandNewWorld (2004)

Salespeople in shops 24

Newspapers/magazines 34

Television 34

Content provided by

Internet Service Provider^35

Product information in shops 46

Customer opinions/reviews

on web sites

47

Reviews/opinions on the Internet

written by experts^50

Price comparison web sites 56

Web sites of well known retailers 57

Web sites of well known brands 57

Personal recommendations 67

Search engines 71

0 10203040

% who consider the above to be important sources of

information when researching/considering a product or service

50 60 70 80

Understanding consumer search engine behaviour

Search marketing firm iProspect conducted research on how we search; the results are

instructive:


Over half of Internet users search at least once a day.


 81.7% will start a new search if they cannot find a relevant answer in the first 3 pages

(typically 30 results). So, to some extent, it is a myth that if you are not in the top 10 you will

receive no visitors – it depends on the quality and relevance of the listing also. The detailed

figures were: 22.6% try another search after first few results; a further 18.6% after reviewing

the first page (41.2% cumulative); 25% after checking the first two pages (67% cumulative);

and 14.6% the first three pages (81.7% cumulative).


 Users tend to choose the natural search results in preference to the paid search listings;

according to a sample figures for selection of natural search were 60.8% for Yahoo! and

72.3% for Google. This figure increases for experienced users. This suggests that

companies that concentrate on paid listings only are limiting their visibility.


 Around half use search toolbars from one of the providers such as Google, Yahoo! or MSN

(these are plug-ins for searching which are added to the browser).

Source: iProspect research, Spring 2004 (www.iprospect.com)