Nielsen: Search matters for retail, but you can't ignore display
What matters more for online retailers: display advertising or search? It's likely not an either or answer, but it's a question that has been the subject of an ongoing debate in our comments section this week.
I wrote this post after reading an AdAge article that implied search only accounted for 10% of traffic sent to online retail sites. Abby Klaasen wrote:
"Nielsen found the majority of retailers' web traffic (61%, on average) comes from people going directly to a retail site -- consumers typing, say, Amazon.com into a browser address bar."
The idea that only 10% of traffic would be driven by search was new to me, and we asked our readers to weigh in with their own experiences. Many were surprised and confused by Nielsen's numbers (and there is a ton of information in those comments for anyone interested in the subject).
I spoke with Kenneth Cassar, Nielsen's VP of industry insights, to get some clarification. And as always, it turns out that context is key with these numbers.
Nielsen: Display ads send more traffic to retail sites than search
Display advertising is starting to look like the little ad format that could lately. Online advertisers are moving away from click-through rates as a metric for display success, large companies from Google to Yahoo are stepping up their display efforts and now Nielsen has come out with numbers that imply display may be more effective for retailers than search advertising.
According to Nielsen, less than 10% of online retailers' web traffic, on average, comes from search engines. That's good news for display ads. But is it true?
Memo to Twitter: keep the suggested user list
For some, it's a travesty. For others, it's a source of jealousy. And to a few, a spot on it is worth big bucks.
I'm talking of course about Twitter's suggested user list, or SUL. There's been so much talk about it that a few months ago, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone took the time to remind everyone why the SUL exists in the first place.
What happens in Vegas: Nielsen Usability Week (day two)
It’s 7.30am on day two of Nielsen’s Usability Week in Caesar’s Palace Las Vegas and let’s just say I’m pleased they’re pumping pure oxygen into the casinos...
Is Nielsen overhyping Facebook?
An interesting post by Erick Schonfeld at TechCrunch details how
Nielsen has been "gushing" about Facebook since it partnered with the
giant social network on a service called BrandLift, which is designed to help advertisers measure the effectiveness of their ad campaigns on the site.
One report Nielsen issued after it teamed up with Facebook highlights just how much time consumers are spending on social networks, and Facebook in particular. Another provided data showing that affluent consumers are more likely to be using it than MySpace. The obvious question: is Nielsen presenting objective data to advertisers or is it overhyping its newest partner?
Facebook partners with Nielsen on BrandLift
Facebook may have made it into the black this month, but proving to the press and marketers that its ads work is another story. To hasten that process, the social netowrk has teamed up with Nielsen to to poll users on the ads they are served and package that data for advertisers.
Nielsen's polls provide skewed samples across platforms — because viewers that opt-in to respond to them are not emblematic of all viewers — but it should still provide a good proving ground for Facebook ads.
Bing continues to roll, breaks double-digit market share
Microsoft has surprised many with its latest attempt at cracking the search engine market. While its 'decision engine' Bing is no threat to Google, it's starting to look like Yahoo had better hope its deal to outsource its search business to Microsoft passes regulatory scrutiny.
According to Nielsen, total searches at Bing hit 1.1bn in the month of August, a 22% jump from July. That gave Microsoft a 10.7% market share amongst search engines for the month. With 1.7bn searches in August and a 16% market share, Yahoo is starting to become a visible target on Bing's horizon.
Nielsen's online television meter won't be useful until 2011
This week, Nielsen announced its new "Internet Meter" will be available by the end of the year. But it won't actually be useful until 2011. And the cable companies' plans for TV Everywhere are likely to be put off until 2014. While television companies are talking a lot about putting their premium content online, it could be awhile before this becomes serious business.
Is consumer trust online misplaced? Can brands do anything to change this?
We've all done it. In our decision making process to purchase something of fairly high value such as a holiday or fancy gadget; or when we think about a purchase that requires a long term commitment such as a mobile contract or gym membership; we ask trusted friends for their opinions and experiences.
It's human nature. We're doing our best to eliminate any risk, whether this be associated with cost or contract catches, anything really. We're after value for money and want to hear about any experiences, warts 'n' all. Based upon the information we gather from these trusted sources, we make what we feel is the best decision for ourselves.
Even as social media marketing grows, traditional brand building still matters
Social media marketing budgets have been on the rise for some time. And now Forrester Research's new Interactive Marketing Forecast estimates that social media marketing will grow 34% over the next five years to $3.1 billion by 2014.
And while overall advertising budgets may stay the same size or decrease, that doesn't mean they don't still matter.
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
Email marketing: six steps to improving customer engagement in 2010
Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
