Google’s EU Research: And the Brand Played On

Google’s ambitions to deliver for big brands includes paying for the kind of research that demonstrates its power to capture consumers. Google hired market researchers for a “pan-European” effort to “prove search can have a big impact on branding.” According to New Media Age, “[T]he findings…showed coming top of organic listings raised purchase consideration of a brand 4%… exposure to a listing in the top paid position, with no organic listing on the page, increased purchase consideration 20%. The findings provide advertisers with the most complete picture to date of how the entire online journey affects consumer buying… It found search has a positive effect on brand measures such as awareness, recall, brand affinity and even brand communication…

Henry Eccles, Google EMEA product marketing manager for its Market Insights team, said,… “We’ve seen the same lifts for all verticals, including FMCG, retail and technology, and all markets, so we believe this is brand, vertical and market agnostic”…

source: Google provides proof of search’s branding value. Will Cooper. NMA. July 10, 2008 [sub. required]

Author: jeff

Jeff Chester is executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. A former journalist and filmmaker, Jeff's book on U.S. electronic media politics, entitled "Digital Destiny: New Media and the Future of Democracy" was published by The New Press in January 2007. He is now working on a new book about interactive advertising and the public interest.

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