Web search statistics released by Dutch firm

Dutch research firm De Vos & Jansen recently released findings in an extensive study demonstrating that on-line buyers view more search results and are more brand orientated than informational searchers. Among the findings in the study:

• Consumers view a search result for just 1.1 second.
• 98% look at the organic search results.
• 96% look at the top (three) sponsored search results.
• 31% look at the sponsored search results on the right.
• Buyers view more search results (10) and take more time to view the results (11.4 seconds). They also focus on familiar brand names.
• Information searchers view fewer search results (8) and spend less time on each listing (9.4 seconds). They pay more attention to contents than to brand names.
• Searchers view an average of 9.2 results (6.6 organic, 2.6 sponsored)

The full study results are available here and contain some fascinating data. Notable in the PDF document are several visual maps of how users view search results - what part of the search page do people typically look to for their information?

The data reinforces key points about online marketing and search engine optimization that should be considered by companies providing these services as well as their customers. For example, you have one second to make an impact, meaning your copy must be eye catching but short, and interesting without being wordy. Also, organic or natural results are still preferred by many users.

The reality remains that users are really not concerned with results past the first page on Google. For a company to truly justify the costs associated with SEO, they must see results on that first page of listings. Unfortunately, the vast majority of dollars spent with those claiming to "gurantee top ten placement" are wasted. And while there are many organizations who can indeed improve their clients' rankings, the fact is that moving up from listing #100 to listing #50 is effectively worthless if the improvement ends there. We seem to be learning the hard way that no matter how much improvement there is, unless top ten rankings are really achieved on the most relevent keywords, the net effect is negligible at best.

When considering an SEO provider, be sure to look out for warning words such as "guarantee," "immediate" and "100% effective." Look for success stories and proven results, and then enter your campaign with the understanding that results don't come overnight. Are your expectations and your provider's promises aligned with the reality of studies like these?

MarketMyBusiness.Net and partner iFX Interactive utilize the experts at Level Ten Design to provide SEO services to our customers. Their success stories speak for themselves.