Search 'influences brand perception'

13 December 2007

Consumer perception of brands is influenced by search engine listings, it has been found.

A new study by Enquiro Research discovered a correlation between paid and organic search listings and the extent to which customers identified with and remembered brands.

Shopping habits were also found to be related to the strength of search marketing campaigns by the investigation.

Using eyetracking and survey methods, the company found that purchasing intent grew more pronounced as search rankings grew higher.

Concentrating on people in the first stages of buying a car, the study found that customers were 16 per cent more likely to think that Honda produced environmentally-friendly vehicles when the firm topped the search listings.

Polled shoppers were 42 per cent more likely to recall the brand when it topped both organic and paid listings.

The study was commissioned by Google, which a new report from the University of California, Berkeley, claims operates in a similar way to the human brain.

Category: Natural search