Search is an important consumer marketing tool

Intermediary transaction SEO diagnosis Taobao guest Cloud host technology Hall

Guide: Search engine marketing value has gradually spread from it, automobile, real estate and other fields to consumer goods. Now, people find it easy to find coffee and laundry information in addition to online search for books, finance, houses and travel. Web search has become a subconscious move for people to get all kinds of information. For the consumer goods industry, this means new marketing opportunities. But many of the industry's leading brands, such as Procter & Gamble and Johnson, have underestimated the power of search engines, and even lack awareness of paid search. The numbness and slowness of industry leaders created opportunities for Up-and-comer. It can be foreseen, when the big names finally understand the value of search engines, increase the search marketing efforts, the search engine and the competition will be intensified. and the search advertising price must rise with the competition.

October 23, 2007, a survey published by ComScore strongly refutes a long-standing "prejudice" that people are not concerned about CPG (consumer package hereby) products. This limited concern is not enough to support an online survey of CPG products and a website that allows people to patronize CPG products.

The study found that most American consumers visited at least one CPG product site in the three-month period ending April. In these visits, the search engine in the number of visits to occupy a significant proportion.

Food and baby Care sites

According to comscore, the food product site attracted a total of 93.7 million visitors in a three-month period. 47% of visitors come from search engines. And for the baby care site, this ratio is higher, in total 26 million of the only visitors, from the search engine visitors ratio of 60%.

In general, the number of these audiences is huge, and the number of viewers is greater than most television projects or print media projects made by most CPG product marketers. The 2000 census of the United States had counted 20 million children under 5 years of age. There are 26 million visitors to the baby care site. A two-figure comparison may draw the conclusion that some grandparents, the expected mother or the baby shower buyer made the visit swell.

Ironically, the data show that search engines, like branded sites, can be a tool for CPG marketers to reach the mass market. This tool is the media since the implementation of the 1970 segment, marketers have been deeply lacking.

"Search engines can be considered as a means of arrival, even as a more powerful means of arrival," says James Lamberti, senior media director of ComScore. It can reach people who are obviously interested in your product. ”

The cost of search engine marketing is too low

However, this astonishing flow is due to the fact that CPG marketers are spending less on online marketing. For most companies in the industry (including the research-and-gamble companies), only a very low, one-digit percentage point is spent on the network in measurable media costs. According to TNS Media Intelligence data: In the first half of 2007, the online cost of Procter and Gamble accounted for only 1.6 billion dollars of 2.1%. The ratio was 1.4% a year ago.

This data does not compute the search engine, but the research firm Jupiter estimates that the current search engine accounts for less than 20% of the total online media spending on CPG products. Even so, Procter and Gamble (its partners in this research, including Yahoo and the search engine Marketing professional organization), sees this data as a sign of search engine power.

"People are psychologically likely to think that search is usually only for cars or mortgage businesses," says Mr Lamberti. Rather than CPG products. People don't search for deodorant or skin care products. Actually, people will. ”

Randy Peterson, search innovation manager at Procter and Gamble, said: "Procter and Gamble wants to improve marketing costs that bring better marginal returns." Search engines are increasingly being shown as a good way to spend marketing budgets. Is it a panacea for us? No. The most interesting part of the study, he says, is showing how far people are accustomed to using search engines to find information in their daily lives.

Search began in the technology world, gradually moving to books, DVDs and travel. Now people find that they can even find information about coffee and laundry online. It has become a natural way for people to get all kinds of information.

Speaking of particular interest to him, Mr. Peterson said that searchers who came to the CPG product site were more likely to make category distinctions and consume more (20% higher) than non-searchers. "It tells us how to spend the marketing budget," he said. ”

Search for a purchase gap

But the study also found that big brands have huge flaws in keyword search. According to ComScore's online search survey, 71% of online searchers expect them to see the main brands in search results when doing a search. For example, after the word "anti-aging" was entered in the search term, it was not found in the top and pay rankings that leading brands and the largest media consumers were present, such as the company's Olay. But Johnson's main competitor, Neutrogena, has already bought top-paid rankings on Google and Yahoo.

Only 2% to 3% of the hits on CPG search point to the pay rankings, as many big brands lack significant locations for paid searches. Overall, this ratio should be 12% to 13%.

Another surprising fact in the survey is that coupons and promotions, in the process of introducing traffic into CPG sites, do not function as much as people expect. Only 40% of searchers and 47% of non-searchers said they went to brand sites to pursue promotional activities. In contrast, 73% and 58% of the people said they were on the site to find information and help.

"On the whole, people who visit CPG products by search rather than by other means tend to have higher incomes, better education, more women and larger categories of consumers, which also mark the relative value of search ads," says Mr Lamberti. “

Matt Wilburn,yahoo, Senior category Manager of CPG products, does see a tendency for industry marketers to focus on search. He believes that the trickle will eventually flow in the next few years. "We have planned to hold a client meeting in 08," he said. Search engines are always needed. CPG companies are like warships, they are slow to turn. ”

Note：

CPG (consumer packaged-goods) Company: refers to the design, production, marketing of clothing, cleaning supplies, hand tools, furniture, household utensils, sporting goods, linen products and consumer electronics products and appliances enterprises.