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Google Shopping integrations in universal search drop 79% after shift to paid model

Google’s decision to move its Shopping product from a free to a paid-for service has coincided with a massive decline in the number of shopping results showing up in universal search integrations on Google.com.

A new report from Searchmetrics shows that in January 2012 shopping results appeared in 20% of universal search integrations, however by December this number had fallen to just 5%.

The steepest decline occurred in October, which is also the month that Google made the switch to a paid-for model.

To be clear, universal search refers to boxes containing additional media, which appear between the actual organic search results and can also generate higher click rates.

Overall the data shows that the proportion of keywords with at least one universal search integration declined throughout 2012. In January the proportion was about 86% but by December it had decreased to 75%.

20% of consumers think hashtags are mainly useful for researching products

One in five (20%) consumers believe that hashtags are primarily useful for finding information on brands and products, though the most common use is for identifying trends (30%).

The findings come from a RadiumOne survey into consumer attitudes towards hashtags, which also revealed that out of the 58% of respondents that said they use hashtags, more than two thirds (70%) said they use them on a mobile device.

Unfortunately this question is slightly flawed as it appears that respondents were forced to answer either desktop or mobile, as if it’s impossible for a person to use hashtags on both devices, but it does at least indicate that people use them more frequently on their mobile.

Unsurprisingly, the report found that consumers would be more willing to use product-related hashtags if they were rewarded with discounts.

Report: APAC is excelling in digital advertising

Digital advertising is thriving in the Asia-Pacific region, outshining North America and Europe in some categories, according to a new global benchmark report by DG MediaMind. 

The Viewability: A New Lens for Engagement report compares the digital advertising behaviours from 47 countries around the world, analysing more than 600 billion display advertising impressions during last year.

How H&M uses Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+

H&M is rated as one of the world’s top 25 brands, so it’s a great candidate for one of our posts looking at how brands use the four main social networks.

It follows on from similar blogs looking at the social strategies of major brands including Nike, Red Bull, Walmart and John Lewis.

H&M has actually gone to the trouble of publishing the basis of its social strategy online. It states that through social media “millions of H&M fans and followers share ideas and opinions and get quick answers to their queries.”

It has official accounts on almost every major social network, including Chinese platforms Youku and Sina Weibo.

Unfortunately my Mandarin is a bit rusty, so for this post I’ll just focus on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+…

Report: Digital radio sales soar in Australia

The popularity of digital radio is on the rise in Australia with a new report finding that sales figures have reached record highs, exceeding industry expectations. 

Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) has released their 2013 Digital Radio Industry Report, which shows that around 1.5 million people are listening to digital radio on DAB+ devices each week.

While this figure represents only 11.6% of total radio listeners, it is an increase of almost 300,000 people on the year prior. 

Brands that use Vine: five great vs. five bad examples

Twitter’s Vine launched to much fanfare at the beginning of the year and brands have been quick to experiment with the video sharing tool to both promote their products and generally have a bit of fun.

Unfortunately too many brands seem to think that just because it’s a throwaway six-second clip they don’t have to put much effort into it, so the clips often end up looking quite messy and of poor quality.

Similarly the temptation is often to try and cram as much as you can into the short time frame, which can make it difficult to work out what’s going on in the clip.

In my opinion, the best examples use a single continuous clip or motion capture so the viewer doesn’t have to try and take in several different camera angles in just six seconds. I would suggest that unless there’s a particuarly pressing need, Vines should be limited to around three of four different shots otherwise it can dilute the impact.

Furthermore, it’s a good idea to mount the phone on something so that the video doesn’t look too shaky.

B2B mobile: key takeaways from Digital Cream London

Whilst some consumer sectors, such as retail, are forging ahead in the mobile channel, it sometimes feels as if B2B is lagging behind.

It’s not surprising though. While retailers can use m-commerce or drive purchases through discounts or incentives, the opportunities and the ROI in mobile B2B seem less obvious.

Formation CEO and Econsultancy trainer Mark Brill chaired Mobile B2B roundtable at Econsultancy’s Digital Cream Event. 

Here are his thoughts on the day’s discussions…

Online shopping: China leads the pack in the Asia-Pacific region

It seems China has some of the keenest online shoppers in the Asia-Pacific region, with Chinese consumers more likely purchase online than any other APAC country.

A new Mastercard study measured consumers’ tendencies to shop online between November and December 2012 and found that Chinese internet users shop online the most, registering a score of 102 on Mastercard’s Index for 2012, a figure that is up four points on the year prior.

According to the report, one of the main reasons for this rise in online shopping popularity in China is due to increased consumer confidence. Of those surveyed, only 21.4% felt unsecure when shopping online, down from 32.8% in 2011 and 35.3% in 2010.

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