Back to School 2014 Trends: How Search Marketers Can Get Ready Now [Study]

by Jessica Lee,June 18, 2014Comments

School may have just got out for some, but that doesn't mean search marketers can take a break. The back-to-school marketing season is in full swing according to data coming from PM Digital's fourth annual "Back To School Trend Report".

Approximately 48 percent start shopping online in preparation for school three to four weeks prior to the first day of school, and about 31 percent do so two months prior. With much of the U.S. going back to school in late August or early September, that puts retailers into prime search opportunity starting in July.

Google: Top Search Ads Increase Brand Awareness by 6.6% [Study]

by Ashley Zeckman,June 18, 2014Comments

Traditionally, the value in search advertising has always been centered on increases in click-through rates and conversions. However, Google and Ipsos MediaCT partnered to study the impact of search ads on brand awareness. The results might surprise you.

How Was the Study Conducted?

Google and Ipsos MediaCT ran over 60 search experiments in 2013 in hopes of understanding how search ads affect brand awareness. As part of the studies, 800 U.S. consumers participated in the simulated search scenarios. Think with Google recently shared further information on how the simulations were conducted:

The consumers were prompted to search for a specific category keyword (for example, "hiking boots" or "small cars") on their desktop or laptop. They were then shown either a control search engine results page (SERP) or Test SERP spotlighting one of the 12 categories: apparel and durables, auto, B2B, classified and local, consumer packaged goods (CPG), education, financial services, healthcare, media and entertainment, retail, tech and travel.

Consumers that were given the Test SERP would see the test brand's search ad present at the top of their Google search results (as pictured below).

Videos Dominate Universal Search Results 65% of the Time [Study]

by Jessica Lee,June 19, 2014CommentsSince its inception in 2007, universal search results have have morphed to show a multitude of choices for searchers to choose from, like videos, images, maps, shopping results, and news.