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40% of consumers are unaware that Google Adwords are adverts

Research carried out by Bunnyfoot suggests that many people are unaware of the difference between paid and organic search listings, with 40% of web users unaware they were adverts.

While conducting a research project for an insurance sector client, Bunnyfoot discovered that 81% of users clicked on Google Adwords listings as opposed to natural search results.

Further investigation of this surprising bias revealed that 41 out of the 100 individuals tested did not know that Adwords were paid-for adverts, believing them instead to be the most authoritative links.

Article Social

The Twitter landscape of 2013: recommendations for brands

As brands continue to increase investments in Twitter as a communication increasing opportunities arise to learn from the activity taking place on the and how to better use it to your advantage from a business perspective.

A Brandwatch report, which has studied over 10,000 random tweets has established some key trends that will impact the way we use Twitter in 2013.

The results, which analysed brand mentions and consumer voice, are especially important for brands to understand Twitter as a communication channel.

Article Paid search

To reach Gen Y, will financial services firms warm to the web?

According to a new report, members of Gen Y are less entrepreneurial and more risk averse than their older siblings, parents and grandparents. So it stands to reason that Gen Y, hard particularly hit by the turbulent economic environment of the past five years, probably isn’t eager to invest.

But that may not be the case.

Article Strategy

The forgotten Australian market? Baby Boomers.

It seems Australia’s Baby Boomers are being shunned by brands and marketers who are instead focusing on younger, more tech savvy consumers – something that’s already been identified as an opportunity in other countries.

According to a new Mi9 report, only 10% of Australian advertising spend is directed towards Baby Boomers, despite the fact that this age group is currently entering into a ‘Lifestyle’ stage where they have more disposable income than any other group.

And of the small number of brands who do target the over-55s, it looks like they may be entirely missing the mark, as overwhelmingly, 94% of Baby Boomers say they dislike the way advertisers currently communicate with them.

Article Strategy

Is marketing facing its own fiscal cliff in 2013?

Marketing complexity continues to increase due to data proliferation, channel fragmentation, technology advancements and the increasing empowerment of the consumer.

In addition, marketing is being asked to address some key organizational challenges as the role of marketing becomes more pervasive across an organization.

But what can you look at in order to address these challenges and bring your organization into the future of business?

Article Content marketing

Google’s Knowledge Graph: one step closer to the semantic web?

Google was rather busy last year with algorithm updates and product launches, but that didn’t stop it from taking strides towards the “internet of things” and a more semantic web.

As I wrote in my recent search engine analysis 2012 saw Google announce to the UK one of a number of aggressive product announcements that may well prove to become the most game-changing (in the long run) in terms of the web.

Enter the Knowledge Graph, a database of over 570m of the most searched-for people, places and things (entities), including around 18bn cross-references. A truly impressive demonstration of what a semantic search engine with structured data can bring to the everyday user.

Article Social

Social media measurement: focus on the big picture

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about some of the problems I’ve encountered when trying to gauge accurate traffic from our social media channels, particularly Twitter.

Based on the overwhelming response in the comments section, and feedback from our own recent social media measurement roundtables, it appears this is a very common problem.

Lots of you took the time to offer up ideas and recommendations, so I thought it would be useful to recap (and test) some of the suggested solutions here…

Article Strategy

How Ikea uses Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Google+

In the latest instalment of our blog series looking at how different brands use the main social networks, I’ve decided to shine the spotlight on Ikea.

The Swedish furniture manufacturer is probably one of the most recognisable brands on the planet, and its catalogues are full of striking visuals that are perfect for sharing via social.

Ikea has also just found itself caught up in the horsemeat scandal, so it’s the perfect time to see how it is using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+ for customer engagement.

For comparison, I’ve previously looked at how Walmart, Tesco, Red Bull, John Lewis and ASOS use the four main social networks.

Article Tablets

Was 2012 the ‘year of the tablet’?

Last year I analysed whether the industry claim that 2011 would be the ‘year of the mobile (device)’ was correct.

It seemed those clever industry commentators got it right on that occasion.

This year we’ve stepped it up a notch, got more specific and it’s time to examine whether or not 2012 really was the ‘year of the tablet’.

Article Strategy

Could “the next big thing” be a Baby Boomer creation?

When you hear the word startup, chances are images of twenty-somethings hacking away at Macs in a loft office with an open floor plan spring to mind. And for good reason: head to sunny California, home to Silicon Valley and some of the today’s prominent internet startups, and you’re bound to find that a lot of startups do look something like this.

But that doesn’t mean that one should jump to the conclusion that Gen-Y is the generation with the greatest entrepreneurial spirit. According to a new survey released today by Monster.com and Millennial Branding, members of Gen-X and the Baby Boomer generation actually consider themselves to be more entrepreneurial than their younger siblings and children.

Article Mobile

Showrooming may have offline upside: report

Showrooming probably isn’t going to make it onto a list of retail executives’ favorite words any time soon. After all, the notion that the significant amounts of money required to operate physical stores is increasingly going to waste as consumers use stores to check out products they’ll buy cheaper online isn’t a pleasant one.

But is all of the fear around the showrooming really justified? According to a study published by Ipsos MediaCT and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), the answer may be no.

Article User experience and usability

Customer satisfaction with m-commerce almost on par with desktop: report

Customer satisfaction with mobile commerce appears to be gradually improving year-on-year, to the extent that the m-commerce experience is almost considered to be on par with desktop.

The findings come from a survey by Foresee, which has been examining satisfaction scores from visitors to 40 of the largest UK mobile retail websites and apps in the UK since 2010.

It found that customer satisfaction with desktop websites in the UK scored 74 on the study’s 100-point scale, compared to 72 for mobile retail experiences.

The difference between the two channels has dropped steadily from five points to just two points in three years.

The findings obviously raise two possibilities – either shoppers are becoming more used to m-commerce so are naturally more satisfied with the experience, or retailers have adapted and improved the user experience.

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