Being in the internet marketing business, our in boxes overflow each day with e-newsletters and blog posts that cite a ton of useful statistics and data points on topics such as:
Sounds too simple? Recent survey data on online customers’ search behavior (compiled by HubSpot "Social Media Scientist" Dan Zarrella) explains why it isn’t. For example, the below graphic shows that most people use search engines most frequently to make purchase decisions (versus relying on social media, blogs, online news/magazines or forums). However, men are more likely to use social media than women; and women gravitate toward blog recommendations more than men do.
The next data points analyze customer search behavior by age, comparing online users who are 30 and under to those over the age of 30. The conclusion: While search engines are the No. 1 place for making purchasing decisions, folks 30 and under are much more likely to turn to social media or forums than the, er, “older” crowd. (Disclaimer: we wish respondents had been broken down into slightly more finite age groups.)
Does a website’s search ranking affect its perceived trustworthiness? The survey showed people almost evenly split between “Yes” and “No.” However, when asked, “Do you believe that web pages ranked higher in search results are more trustworthy?” responses show that:
What Does This All Mean?
This blog post covers just an admittedly few (and basic) data points on online customer behavior. The point is that knowing the makeup of the constituents you intend to engage with in your internet marketing efforts can be a HUGE help to you when you’re plotting your internet marketing strategy and assessing where to invest resources.
Blogging and social media, for example, might not intuitively seem like the best place to allocate time and budget, but a well-targeted initiative might surprise you. Blogging and social media are valuable SEO tools, but they can also help you learn more about your customers so you can target and fine-tune future marketing initiatives.
What conundrums are you facing with your internet marketing strategy? Have you gained any unexpected insights thanks to blogging or social media? We’d love to hear your take! Here's how you can contact us.
- The impact that features like video and images have on SEO efforts
- The number of hours the average person spends online
- What customers are usually wearing when they’re doing their online searches
- How online users interact with Twitter, Facebook and other forms of social media
Ok, the third item was included to see who’s paying attention. The point is that there’s a lot of data about every conceivable aspect of marketing (both online and offline) out there. When you are trying to develop a marketing strategy for your business, it can seem like there’s too much information to sift through.
One often-overlooked, though simple approach is to start at the beginning and assess what you know about your industry and clients. You might not have the resources at this point to do in-depth custom surveys or research, but simply having an idea about the age or gender of your customer base can be a great place to begin.Sounds too simple? Recent survey data on online customers’ search behavior (compiled by HubSpot "Social Media Scientist" Dan Zarrella) explains why it isn’t. For example, the below graphic shows that most people use search engines most frequently to make purchase decisions (versus relying on social media, blogs, online news/magazines or forums). However, men are more likely to use social media than women; and women gravitate toward blog recommendations more than men do.
The next data points analyze customer search behavior by age, comparing online users who are 30 and under to those over the age of 30. The conclusion: While search engines are the No. 1 place for making purchasing decisions, folks 30 and under are much more likely to turn to social media or forums than the, er, “older” crowd. (Disclaimer: we wish respondents had been broken down into slightly more finite age groups.)
Does a website’s search ranking affect its perceived trustworthiness? The survey showed people almost evenly split between “Yes” and “No.” However, when asked, “Do you believe that web pages ranked higher in search results are more trustworthy?” responses show that:
- Men are more likely than women to think higher ranking pages are more trustworthy
- People over 30 are more likely than those under 30 to give greater clout to higher ranking pages
WOMEN VS. MEN
UNDER 30 VS. OVER 30
What Does This All Mean?
This blog post covers just an admittedly few (and basic) data points on online customer behavior. The point is that knowing the makeup of the constituents you intend to engage with in your internet marketing efforts can be a HUGE help to you when you’re plotting your internet marketing strategy and assessing where to invest resources.
Blogging and social media, for example, might not intuitively seem like the best place to allocate time and budget, but a well-targeted initiative might surprise you. Blogging and social media are valuable SEO tools, but they can also help you learn more about your customers so you can target and fine-tune future marketing initiatives.
What conundrums are you facing with your internet marketing strategy? Have you gained any unexpected insights thanks to blogging or social media? We’d love to hear your take! Here's how you can contact us.
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