Companies regularly seek out opportunities to
improve their marketing campaigns to encourage higher levels of return from improved
purchase rates. A paper by Ye, et. al (2014) discusses how companies use a
number of metrics but often fail to incorporate search engine information into
their marketing campaigns. By understanding how consumer interest leads to
search behavior and eventual purchase companies can better design their
marketing campaigns for greater effectiveness.
Sales do not happen in a vacuum and often rely on
pre-existing interest among consumers. Search engines and sites like Google
Trends, Adwords, and others track search behavior of consumers. With 80%+ of
consumers using the search engine to find information it can be used to help to
develop stronger marketing processes that lead to higher sales.
The search engine becomes a gateway to purchasing
behavior based upon the cognitive processes of the consumer and the word
choices he or she uses to find information. What is of interest to people will
lead to improved sales. You may look at various categories on Google Trends to see general interest
categories and their ranking.
In today’s world, the search engine is an integral
part of our lives and can influence how we understand the world around us.
Information from products and services found in our environment can be better
pinpointed online. Companies can use this search information to better develop
stronger marketing programs that lead to higher percentages of conversion.
Traditional marketing statistics often ignore
pre-trending search information that occurs before purchases are made. They
ignore these statistics because it can be difficult to understand and
incorporate into data metrics. However, it is these general search trends that
eventually lead to page visits and purchases.
The authors bring forward a solid point that
understanding search behavior and trends will have an impact of eventual sales
as consumer interest converts to purchasing behavior. Since a large section of
society uses the Internet on a regular basis it is possible to use some of that
trending information to determine which products are going to sell well and which
ones are not. The development of marketing programs should factor in popularity
on search engines.
Ye, et. al. (2014). Decomposing the impact of
advertising: augmenting sales with online search data. Journal of Marketing Research, 51 (3).
