Apple iPhone searches soar

The findings, from comScore, looked at all iPhone-related search activity, defined as all searches containing any derivation of the term “iPhone.”

January iPhone Announcement and June Advertising Campaign Cause Spikes in U.S. Search Activity

Product-specific search activity can provide an important gauge of consumer demand. comScore’s study of iPhone-related search activity since the beginning of the year revealed some interesting insights into consumer demand and interest surrounding the iPhone.

When the product was first announced by Apple CEO Steve Jobs at Macworld on January 9, iPhone-related search activity jumped to more than 1.1 million searches during the week ending January 14.

From February through May, the number of weekly searches ranged between 80,000 and 200,000, which still represented very high levels of search activity for an individual product. By comparison, even during the post-announcement period the number of iPhone-related searches was comparable with the number of searches for Motorola’s “Razr,” a well-established and popular cell phone already available to consumers.

As Apple’s major iPhone advertising campaign touched off in June, search activity once again spiked with 704,000 iPhone-related searches for the week ending June 10, followed by 727,000 during the week ending June 17, and finally peaking with 1.2 million for the week ending June 24.

“The iPhone launch is likely to be one of the biggest product launches in history, and the activity we’re seeing online clearly reflects widespread consumer interest,” said James Lamberti, senior vice president of search solutions at comScore. “This study also helps underscore the significant role search plays in both online and offline retail, since many of those researching the product online will be lining up at the bricks-and-mortar retailers to purchase their new iPhones.”

iPhone Searchers Interested in Price, Release Date

Through June 24, nearly 6.9 million searches were conducted that included the term “iPhone.” Of those searches conducted, more than half (3.7 million) were for “iPhone,” while nearly one in ten (638,000) were for “Apple iPhone.” The most common related topics were price (“iPhone Price” with 217,000 searches and “Apple iPhone Price” with 57,000 searches) and release date (“iPhone Release Date” with 87,000 searches and “Apple iPhone Release Date” with 26,000 searches).

iPhone-Related Searches Generate 2 Million Click-throughs to Apple.com

iPhone-related searches generated more than 7.8 million click-throughs to Web sites since the beginning of the year, led by Apple.com with 2.3 million.

Other top click-thru destinations include top gadget blogs Engadget.com (288,000 click-throughs) and Gizmodo.com (272,000 click-throughs). Meanwhile, the Web sites for AT&T and Cingular, which have the exclusive carrier rights to the iPhone, generated 151,000 and 124,000 click-throughs, respectively.

Lamberti added: “In a previous study conducted by comScore, we found that product-related searches in the consumer electronics category can result in conversion rates as high as 25 percent within 90 days of the search – when one examines buying that occurs across all channels. Achieving such a high conversion rate may ultimately prove difficult with a new product, but if that assumption were to hold true it could yield as much as $1 billion in search-driven iPhone sales when factoring in the $500 to $600 price tag.”

The iPhone is due to debut in Europe in late 2007 and in Asia in 2008.

Source: www.comscore.com.