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Search Marketing Drives More Than Just Response

September 10, 2008

Posted by: Kriszti Dragos in Online

Search marketing has long been regarded as primarily a direct response medium. A recent Comscore study shows, however, that search also has strong branding components, including positive impact on unaided brand awareness, perception and purchase intent.

The study of more than 6,000 consumers found that brands generated an average 160% increase in unaided brand awareness by being present in sponsored search results compared with when consumers weren’t exposed to their search ads. It also found that consumers were 20% more likely to have positive perceptions of brands in the top position than those in second or third positions and 30% more likely to consider purchasing a product when the brand was at the top of the paid search results.

So what does this mean to you, the advertiser? It means, your search dollars are working twice as hard for you. It also means that when you evaluate your search campaign’s response rate; and the number of visits to your site, don’t overlook the delivered impressions (the number of times your ads were shown). We recognize that those impressions are delivering the branding icing on the cake - especially since they are essentially free - as you only pay for search ads when people click on them.