Recession takes toll on European brand searches
- Added:
- May 19, 2009
The economic downturn has sparked changes in search behaviour, as users abandon brand name searches in favour of a more sophisticated approach to searching for goods and services online, according to new research.
The study, from digital marketing agency Bigmouthmedia, indicayes that despite online shoppers using the search box to access brand sites and browsers like Firefox and Chrome offering a single bar for both navigation and search, navigational keyword usage in Europe is down this year.
Conducted by bigmouthmedia’s international offices in Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, France and the Nordics region, the research simultaneously reveals a growing tendency amongst users to employ increasingly complex search terms when looking for information online.
According to the survey, the steady increase in numbers of consumers using the web for entertainment has seen the percentage of keywords accounted for by navigational search fall, while the vast majority of European consumers now use two and three word search phrases to deliver more targeted results when surfing.
“Over the past few years consumers have become far more savvy about search, and as the recession drives people to hunt for the very best available deals, we’re seeing them adopt a sophisticated approach with the majority now employing more complicated phrases to find their way around the web,” said Andrew Girdwood, Head of Search at bigmouthmedia.
The research demonstrates a range of differing approaches from country to country. Web users in Italy, Great Britain and Germany were found to demonstrate the most complex search behaviour, topping the table for four-word phrases, while almost a quarter of consumers in France and Spain still rely on a single keyword when tracking down information, goods and services on the internet.
Girdwood added: “Clearly, the way that users approach the search landscape is changing. As consumers continue to become more comfortable with the technology and the sheer volume of online information proliferates it will be interesting to see how this trend develops over the next few years and how it may force many big brand companies to reassess their digital marketing strategies.”
|
Country |
Brand Search |
|
Germany |
13% |
|
United Kingdom |
12% |
|
France |
9% |
|
Italy |
9% |
|
Spain |
8% |
|
Sweden |
8% |
|
Norway |
8% |
|
Denmark |
8% |
|
Country |
One Keyword |
Two Keywords |
Three Keywords |
Four Keywords |
|
Italy |
19% |
23% |
23% |
16% |
|
United Kingdom |
18% |
23% |
24% |
15% |
|
Germany |
21% |
20% |
19% |
15% |
|
Norway |
21% |
21% |
16% |
13% |
|
Denmark |
24% |
19% |
17% |
13% |
|
Sweden |
23% |
21% |
16% |
12% |
|
France |
24% |
24% |
21% |
12% |
|
Spain |
24% |
25% |
19% |
10% |
Disclaimer: No attempt to ‘normalise’ languages has been made. Some languages are more likely to group concepts into a single word than others. For example, the English ‘search engine optimisation’ is three words but the German ‘suchmaschinenoptimierung’ is one word.
Source: www.bigmouthmedia.com
75,000 unique visits (by IP address) for each country (total sample size 600,000) across Google, Yahoo and Live Search. Google analytics and bigmouthmedia client data used. Permission granted from clients involved in the research prior to publication.
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