5 Search Marketing Trends
Posted on Tue, Nov 15, 2011
With the advent of local and mobile technologies, the reliance on search has only become more important. In fact, last month evidenced year-over-year growth in all search measures - revenue, clicks, conversions. Following are 5 research-based search marketing trends that are worth noting as you make holiday and 2012 plans:
Search is a key marketing technique:
According to the recently released "Connected Consumer" report by The E-tailing Group, online shoppers are relying on search results and local product availability information when making purchase decisions. Forty three percent of the 1,000 shoppers surveyed reported that search result listings were significantly more or somewhat more influential in their decisions this year. Other influences included: search results showing local availability (37%), opt-in emails from retailers (34%), ratings and reviews from personal networks (32%) and group buying programs (30%).
Get smarter with your smartphone programs:
Smartphones are helping to bridge the gap between online and offline as new apps developed for in-store use are being introduced everyday. Consumers are using their phones to search, often doing price comparisons from the aisle to see if items are competitively priced, or if there's a better deal nearby. They're also looking up reviews, promotions and special offers all from within the store. For marketers, the opportunity is clear according to eMarketer: search marketers optimize for consumer intent to purchase whereas mobile apps look to draw on intent and bring research and purchase closer together. So new tools that drive consumers from the web to the store and satisfy needs for both information and instant gratification will pay off.
What role will search play in your 2012 planning?
The E-tailing Group recently looked at how retail marketers are allocating budgets to maximize conversion in a cross-channel environment. Search is poised to play a prominent role with 30% planning to leverage paid search, 11% in SEO with affiliate marketing, retargeting and behavioral targeting rounding out the field. As far as which marketing initiatives contribute to their business, 31% cited SEO, 22% cited paid search and 30% cited mobile.
Paid Search and the Holiday Season
Last year, retailers were called out for underspending on paid search, especially around the key holiday season. This year, leading up to the first milestone, Black Friday, Performics is seeing paid search spend up by 88% compared to this week last year and as such, clicks are up by 43%. PM Digital is seeing similar trends; their October 2011 Rewind Index, which measures monthly U.S. paid-search performance for online retail clients, reports 53% annual growth in revenue and 33% growth in clicks in October, the largest monthly increases in both metrics all year. Search is just one of the tools marketers are using to contend with what is predicted to be a very competitive season.
Mobile Search on the Move:
BRC/Google Online Retail Monitor reports that mobile searches are up 168% year over year, driving unprecedented growth of mobile search volumes. Retail search volume for multi-channel retailers are up 26% in the third quarter, and up 71% for pure play etailers. Mobile accounted for 10% of retail searches. The challenge for marketers is ensuring that once a shopper finds your site, you must present searchable, relevant information to keep them on-site.
The Bottom Line: Search, be it mobile search, on-site retail search or search through a traditional engine, is the initial point of engagement in the path to purchase. As such, it is growing at an unprecedented rate, and has solidified its role in 2012 plans.
What are your 2012 search plans?