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BizReport : Search Marketing : July 21, 2008


Does search marketing increase brand awareness?

Unsurprisingly, Google says yes, search marketing does increase brand awareness no matter where it appears on a results page, and they have released the results of a recent study to bolster their case.

by Helen Leggatt

In a recent study called “Brand Value of Search”, Google attempts to answer the age-old question of whether search marketing increases brand awareness, reports MediaPost.

Over 2,400 people took a brand survey using consumer-packaged goods brands and Google concluded that, when a brand did not appear in search results, awareness was decreased. This, says the search firm, shows the importance of search marketing in ensuring the brand is represented within search results.

While building a brand with search marketing would be hard, bringing brands to front of mind at a time when a consumer is intending to make a purchase could only be beneficial. Several previous studies have shown that search marketing goes along way towards generating brand awareness. iProspect’s 2006 survey found that “36% of search engine users believe that the companies whose websites are returned at the top of the search results are the top brands in their field”.

However, with social networking, blogs and review/comparison sites becoming increasingly popular decision-making destinations, it’s often the power of the crowd that dictates unaided search results, and it’s increasingly hard for marketers to ensure that search results reflect a positive brand image when two opposing representations might appear on the same search results page.

Tags: brand building, search marketing








Comments (2)

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2 Comments | Post a comment

I agree with the Google study to a point, but am always skeptical about studies who's results so closely benefit the source. What I have observed is that the greatest value is when the term that is being bid on is one for which the website ranks high in natural search. When the company appears in the top of both organic and paid search results the industry positioning and brand value of the website are increased.
As always, third-party verification provides another layer of trust for the searcher. If you can complement high results for your website with good things said about you on prominent social networks and Blogs the outside verification off of your website provides the best brand value.

user-pic

I think we search engine specialist need to be smarter in visualising the result of a brand awareness campaign. With todays tools, we are not only able to meassure the cost for a conversion or the ROI, but also bounce off rates, dwelling time and page views. Reducing the bounce off rate and increasing dwelling time and page views is a clear indicator that potential customers engaged with the content on the respective site.

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