However, brands are at increasing risk from negative comments appearing in natural search results and according to the 2007 Search Attitudes Report must implement online reputation management strategies to avoid losing customers, and redress the balance between paid and natural search.
Brits don’t trust sponsored links
The 2007 Search Attitudes Report reveals that almost half (43 per cent) of British consumers are now aware of the difference between natural and paid-for search results and 92 per cent prefer using natural search results when looking to buy a product or service. Awareness of the difference is a clear generational issue: more than half (55 per cent) of 16-24 year olds are aware of the difference compared with 51 per cent of the lucrative 25-34 year old age group, and less than one in three (32 per cent) of those aged 55 and over.
When asked why they preferred natural search results to sponsored links, women trusted natural search results to be the most relevant while men turned out to be more cynical about the degree to which paid search results are manipulated by keyword bidding. Cynicism over the independence of sponsored links increases with British consumer’s age and there is a stark contrast of awareness between the sexes: 53 per cent of men claim to know the difference between paid and natural search links compared with just 39 per cent of women.
Natural vs. paid search
The 2007 Search Attitudes Report indicates that sponsored links are most effective when targeting 16-24 year olds, but still less than one in eight (12 per cent) prefer to click on them instead of a natural search results. By contrast, brands are better served by using natural search engine optimisation when targeting those aged 55-and-over. Silver-surfers are the most sceptical about clicking on sponsored links with 94 per cent saying they would always prefer using natural results and the lucrative 25-34 year old audience is similarly dubious with 92 per cent preferring natural search results.
Neil McCarthy, director, Tamar comments, “Consumers are wising up to how sponsored links work and as the cost of paid search continues to grow, so does consumer scepticism. Online marketers need to take a joined-up approach to their online marketing and avoid over-reliance on paid-search. The most effective online campaigns strike a balance between paid and natural search.”
Negative search results take toll on sales
The rise of social networking and citizen journalism has presented brands with a significant new problem for managing their online reputation. When conducting a search seven out of ten British consumers will not click through to a company’s web site if the search results include negative comments about that company. McDonalds and Starbucks are two iconic brands suffering from negativity in search results for the terms ‘McDonalds’
The 2007 Search Attitudes Report reveals that negative comments in natural search results have a profound impact on click-through and sales for the brand in question. Faced with negative comments about a particular company, 58 per cent of consumers put off by negative comments would go as far as visit a competitor’s web site instead. The remaining 42 per cent abandon their search completely.
Men and women are equally put off by negative search results while 25-34 year olds are the most sensitive – 72 per cent would not click on the link of the brand in question if a search brought back negative results. Negative comments, although only likely to appear in natural search results, have the same detrimental effect on the click through rates of both a brand’s natural and sponsored links. Brand owners must implement online reputation management strategies to minimise the impact of these negative comments. This is achieved through natural search optimisation to ensure greater exposure of official web sites and minimise the profile of negative comments by pushing them off the first page of search results.
McCarthy comments, “Consumers who click on natural search links are far more likely to become better customers and leading brands are beginning to place a greater emphasis on their natural search optimisation strategies. Brands owners are only just beginning to actively manage their reputations online as negative comments in search results do drive potential customers into the hands of the opposition. Natural search optimisation should be part of an overall reputation management strategy to ensure negative comments are suppressed and your official links are featured more prominently.”
Better optimisation leads to more sales
The 2007 Search Attitudes Report also found that almost eight out of ten (79 per cent) consumers would be more likely to make an immediate purchase if a search link takes them directly to the page of the product or service they are looking for. The findings reinforce the case for online retailers developing multiple, optimised landing pages for specific products and services. This will ensure potential customers find exactly what they are looking for more easily and are taken directly to the specific product’s landing page, avoiding any risk of getting lost while attempting to navigate through a company’s web site.
McCarthy concludes, “The majority of marketers continue to be preoccupied with fighting for prime position in paid-search rankings in order to drive traffic to their web sites without considering how to better convert those visitors into paying customers. Marketers need to take a joined-up approach to treat their search engine strategy and web site sales strategy as one integrated process, rather than two distinct entities. The joined-up search process is all about learning from testing and ensuring the strategy’s focus is completely on the customer’s requirement. Joined-up search is the process of bringing someone to your shop, showing them the products they want to buy and taking them right through the checkout.”
Research methodology
The 2007 Search Attitudes Report polled the views of a representative sample of 1,531 UK adults aged 16+ between 20 February 2007 and 27 February 2007. The research was commissioned by Tamar and conducted by Tickbox.net, a fully accredited member of the British Market Research Association.
About Tamar
Tamar (www.tamar.com)
For further information please contact:
Ivan Ristic, Hotwire, tel: 020 7608 4647
Email: ivan.ristic@
Jon White, Hotwire, tel: 020 7608 4677
Email: jon.white@hotwirepr.com
