The State of Search

MAY 2012

What you will gain from this white paper

This report provides an overview of the search marketing landscape and notable trends during the first quarter of 2012 by leveraging Compete data, derived from our panel of two million American Internet consumers. This is the first in a series of reports focused on search in 2012. The purpose is to benchmark and evaluate seasonal and quarterly trends in search marketing by looking at web traffic, incoming referral data, and outgoing destination traffic for the top three search engines. Through analysis of these three key areas, we get a view into how consumers use each search engine differently.

The State of Search

Search engine marketing (SEM) is one of the most effective ways to drive prospects to your website and ultimately drive revenue. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), revenues from search marketing grew to $14.8 billion in 2011, up nearly 27% since 2010, and remains the biggest driver of ROI for online marketers*. Thanks to the innovative search engines that consumers rely on every day, websites relevant to unique consumer needs are increasingly more accessible. Based on Competes General Portals and Search category, nearly 95% of the United States Internet Browsing Population (IBP) accessed a search engine in January 2012, averaging 37 search engine visits per person and spending a total of 64,893,262,023 minutes searching online. Search is no longer just a means to an end; it is becoming even more of an experience in and of itself, especially with the ongoing incorporation of social data as seen with Googles tight Google+ integration and Bings integration with Facebook. The continuing growth and significance of online search in turn means the same for search marketing, which is why its more important than ever to understand that not all search engines are the same. Using Compete data, this report will dive into some of the critical distinctions between the top three search engines Google, Bing, and the Bing-powered Yahoo!.

At a Glance: Unique Visitors to Bing, Google, and Yahoo! February 2010 to February 2012

180,000,000 160,000,000 140,000,000 120,000,000 100,000,000 80,000,000 60,000,000 40,000,000 20,000,000 0 10-11 11-11 10-10 12-10 12-11 11-10 1-11 2-11 3-11 4-11 5-11 6-11 7-11 8-11 2-10 3-10 4-10 5-10 6-10 7-10 8-10 9-10 9-11 1-12 2-12

www.google.com

search.yahoo.com

www.bing.com

* http://marketingland.com/iab-pwc-online-ad-spending-resumed-pre-recession-growth-rates-in-record-2011-10202

What does the U.S. search market look like today?

Since its launch is 2009, Bing has seen tremendous growth in terms of unique users as well as market share in the search space. According to Competes March 2012 U.S. Search Market Share Report, Bing continued to increase its market share to a powerful 18%. The decision engine is also responsible for powering Yahoo! Search and because of that, Bing-powered engines control an impressive 33.7% of the U.S. market share. Bings popularity is bolstered by its integration with Facebook, the largest social network in the world, which makes it easy for social networkers to share relevant search results with one another. As more and more consumers have come to expect personalized experiences online, search engines have followed suit by giving more weight to search results deemed relevant by the users network. Google is still the most-used search engine worldwide. Google has built an incredibly successful brand around search, retaining 65.5% of U.S. Search Market Share as of March 2012. Their latest major social effort, Google+, is tightly integrated into the very fabric of Google search with the new initiative, Search, plus Your World. The writing on the wall is ever clearer: consumers crave personalization. Personalized search is indeed the next big thing, and that level of relevancy is currently achieved by tapping into the social graph. To keep up, search marketers should be creating more socially-enabled advertisements and developing search ads that encourage users to take their brand social. Yahoo! Search remains the third most popular search engine in the United States behind Google and Bing. In 2009, Yahoo! signed a deal with Bing to leverage Bingpowered search results, which brought greater overall search market share to Bing and the benefits of more relevant search results to Yahoo!. While Attention, defined by Compete as the percentage of all time spent on the Internet in the United States spent on a particular site, has been decreasing for Google Search, attention for Yahoo! Search has continued to grow, in part due to its Bingpowered results. Even though it is the third most popular search engine in the United States, Yahoo! should not be ignored by search marketers. It remains an important place to find non-Google using consumers.

U.S. Core Web Serach Market Share (March 2012)

15.7%
Yahoo!

65.5%
Google

Bing

18.0% 0.8%
other

*Data taken from Competes March 2012 U.S. Search Market Share Report

Quick Stats Then and Now:

Visits to the General Portals and Search category were up by 44% in February 2012 vs. February 2010 people are using search engines more than ever. Time Spent on the General Portals and Search category was up over 25% for February 2012 vs. February 2010. Average Stay for the General Portals and Search category was down about 14% in February 2012 vs. February 2010 search engines are becoming smarter and giving consumers what they want faster. Visits per Person to the General Portals and Search category were up over 42% for February 2012 vs. February 2010. Pages per Visit to the General Portals and Search category were down nearly 14% in February 2012 vs. February 2010 consumers are getting to their desired results faster than ever before. Referrals from Pinterest to the General Portals and Search category grew by more than 30% between January 2012 and February 2012 while total referrals to the category from Facebook were down by 10% and total Twitter referrals were down over 7% this is the sign of a shift in social dynamics and shows the potential power of new players in the social space.

Which search engines users appear to be more tech savvy?

Site Referrals can provide a better understanding of what types of consumers are visiting each search engine and how they are behaving. Because spring is the time for taxes in the United States, its no surprise that many of the top growing referrals to Bing are from tax service websites. While we expect tax-related websites to be popular, the interesting part is that the tax sites that are driving traffic to each search engine are different. Notice the popularity of mint.com, which is more than just a tax preparation site, its a complete online financial planning tool. We also see growth from the technology and media-focused digital news site, AllThingsD.com. Observing these two referral patterns in tandem suggests that Bing users are generally tech savvy and interested in continuously improving quality of life through technology. Additionally, its interesting to note that Bing users are increasingly arriving from Hotmail.com, another Microsoft property. Search marketers should be sure to leverage related display networks as well as search networks to take full advantage of consumers seeing ads on other, content-based sites.

Top Growing Site Referrals for www.bing.com (January 2012)

INCOMING SITE lockerz.com turbotax.com taxact.com allthingsd.com whitesmoke.com mint.com irs.gov girlscouts.org hotmail.com newt.org INDUSTRY CATEGORY Miscellaneous Accountancy and Tax Services Accountancy and Tax Services News Aggregators and Socially Generated News Free Software/Downloads/AddIns General Financial Services Federal Government Volunteer and Non-Profit Miscellaneous Miscellaneous CHANGE IN SHARE 1312% 1304% 725% 628% 576% 564% 518% 484% 479% 451%

How can search marketers capitalize on the efficiency of Google users?

Like Bing, we should expect to observe seasonal changes in Googles referral traffic, including tax sites during the spring. However, unlike Bing users, consumers using Google are leveraging the easiest tax solutions that they can find, including hrblock.com and eztaxreturn.com. Search marketers take note Google users are looking to get the job done, and done quickly. When developing new Google search campaigns, be sure to include a clear call to action and provide the easiest path to conversion in order to maximize return on investment. Its also worth noting that while Bing users showed a particular interest in technology and entertainment, Google users tended to take a greater interest in politics as election season heats up.

Top Growing Site Referrals for www.google.com (January 2012)

INCOMING SITE lockerz.com turbotax.com freetaxusa.com taxact.com jossandmain.com hrblock.com ricksantorum.com republican-candidates.org eztaxreturn.com dole.com

INDUSTRY CATEGORY
Miscellaneous Accountancy and Tax Services Accountancy and Tax Services Accountancy and Tax Services Miscellaneous Accountancy and Tax Services Miscellaneous Miscellaneous Accountancy and Tax Services Packaged Goods

CHANGE IN SHARE 2941% 1601% 1293% 859% 569% 526% 480% 478% 478% 381%

Should search marketers be thinking about gamifying their ads?

As with the leading two search engines, Yahoo! is also experiencing heavier seasonal, tax-focused incoming traffic. Particularly interesting is that CasualGames.com also experienced significant growth in January, suggesting that Yahoo! users may be more into casual gaming online relative to other search users. Weve talked about gamifying your online marketing before at Compete, and this data reinforces that concept, implying that the same techniques could be applied to search marketing. By leveraging gaming in your online marketing, you will be better positioned to boost engagement and increase conversions.

Top Growing Site Referrals for search.yahoo.com (January 2012)

INCOMING SITE freetaxusa.com turbotax.com mint.com casualgames.com frontdoor.com audiusa.com intuit.com elle.com lockerz.com hrblock.com INDUSTRY CATEGORY Accountancy and Tax Services Accountancy and Tax Services General Financial Services Online Leisure Gaming Real Estate Automotive: Automotive Manufacturers Accountancy and Tax Services Magazines: Entertainment Miscellaneous Accountancy and Tax Services CHANGE IN SHARE 1850% 1650% 1514% 1271% 1180% 950% 685% 650% 620% 607%

Before you write your search ads, is your content even relevant?
Looking at site destinations is important for search marketers because it can help to identify trends in consumer behavior in regards to where search engine users are going more frequentlywhether through paid or organic search. As we examine outgoing site destinations, it becomes apparent that content sites are winning the battle for attention online. Not surprisingly, pop culture sites like PeopleStyleWatch.com and Allure.com are drawing increasing traffic during awards show season, as consumers are looking to engage with topical, relevant content. Bing users seem to be even more engaged with pop culture than the other major search engines. Knowing this provides some context for the general audience that you are speaking to when running search marketing campaigns with Bing. Search marketers should always be thinking about how to make their campaigns interesting and attractive, which again means being relevant to the consumers interests. But being relevant is not easy it requires constant tweaking by season or trending topic and continuously learning from the results. Understanding the general user base of each search engine provides a solid starting point. When reviewing growing site destinations on a regular basis, we can also identify domains that performed particularly well during a specific timeframe. For example, benjaminmoore. com saw incredible referral growth from Bing in January it would serve marketers well to understand what Benjamin Moore changed in January that had such a positive impact on traffic. Its notable that benjaminmoore.com also saw record high page views in January, suggesting that they found a way to drastically improve customer engagement for the new year.

Top Growing Site Destinations for www.bing.com (January 2012)

DESTINATION SITE lockerz.com smithsonianmag.com freetaxusa.com benjaminmoore.com turbotax.com hotmail.com taxact.com smartmoney.com peoplestylewatch.com allure.com INDUSTRY CATEGORY Miscellaneous Miscellaneous Accountancy and Tax Services Home and Garden Accountancy and Tax Services Miscellaneous Accountancy and Tax Services News: Business Magazines: Entertainment Magazines: Entertainment CHANGE IN SHARE 3450% 2216% 1803% 1782% 1575% 1371% 1127% 637% 589% 561%

If your content is relevant, is it concise enough to get clicks?

Googles outgoing site destinations paint a similar picture, but are even more heavily skewed toward tax-related websites. Search marketers can extrapolate from this that as seasons change, so do consumer interests. Subsequently, search marketers should continue working to display the most relevant, timely experiences for consumers. The below data also reinforces the idea that Google search users are more task-focused, concerned with completing the job at hand more than exploring popular content sites.

Top Growing Site Destinations for www.google.com (January 2012)

DESTINATION SITE taxbrain.com turbotax.com freetaxusa.com lockerz.com taxslayer.com eztaxreturn.com taxact.com ricksantorum.com hrblock.com peoplemedia.com INDUSTRY CATEGORY Accountancy and Tax Services Accountancy and Tax Services Accountancy and Tax Services Miscellaneous Software and Downloads Accountancy and Tax Services Accountancy and Tax Services Miscellaneous Accountancy and Tax Services Dating and Relationship Networking CHANGE IN SHARE 1345% 1213% 1172% 1116% 884% 849% 848% 423% 394% 388%

Is your brand engaging with consumers on their own turf?

Not unlike its incoming traffic, the outgoing traffic from Yahoo! Search reinforces our conclusions about Yahoo!s general audience, with sites like hgtv.com and pch.com making the list of top growing destinations. Additionally, these users appear to be making an effort to tackle New Year resolutions of weight loss with weightwatchers.com and travel with carnival.com among the top growing sites. Search marketers can use this information to better target goal-focused consumers with more disposable income. Although were seeing signs that Yahoo! search users tend to be more mature and affluent, that does not mean that social media is not important. Not shown above, #12 on the top growing list is the up-and-coming social website pinterest.com. No matter which search engine your campaign is running on, incorporating social elements to your advertising remains critical. You may even consider focusing on Pinterest while the network is still young it could be invaluable to your bottom line. Creating more social search ads will help support the strength of your campaigns across channels and organically increase the number of social search results from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Top Growing Site Destinations for search.yahoo.com (January 2012)

DESTINATION SITE turbotax.com taxact.com casualgames.com intuit.com hrblock.com irs.gov weightwatchers.com hgtv.com pch.com carnival.com INDUSTRY CATEGORY Accountancy and Tax Services Accountancy and Tax Services Online Leisure Gaming Accountancy and Tax Services Accountancy and Tax Services Federal Government Dieting/Fitness/Beauty Television Miscellaneous Cruise Lines CHANGE IN SHARE 1577% 1409% 1130% 403% 392% 384% 218% 213% 186% 91%

Key Findings

While Google still holds the majority of the U.S. search market, Bing and Bing-powered search engines are rising quickly. Consumers are spending more total time searching than ever before and are finding desired results faster. Search marketers should be optimizing their calls to action to reflect that. Gamification has been taking online marketing by storm recently, and search marketers capitalize on this by adding game-like elements to their search ads in order to make them more compelling. Relevant content is more important than ever. Each search engine has its own unique, loyal users and ads should be created specifically for each one rather than reused across all your search campaigns. Up and coming social network, Pinterest is a force to be reckoned with and should not be left out of a search marketers strategy. Weve seen its effect on referrals to retail sites and there is a lot of room for marketers outside retail to capitalize on its success. Seasonal trends are important to watch in any aspect of marketing, and the data shows that search follows suit, seeing a heavy influence from the spring tax rush.

About Compete
Compete, a Kantar Media company, helps the worlds top brands improve their marketing based on the online behavior of millions of consumers. Leading advertisers, agencies and publishers rely on Competes products and services to create engaging online experiences and highly profitable advertising campaigns. Competes online panel - the largest in the industry - makes the web as ingrained in marketing as it is in peoples lives.

Compete PRO, Competes syndicated offering, is the only online competitive intelligence service that combines site, search and referral analytics in a single product and user interface to help you outperform the competition increase online marketing ROI. Compete PRO makes it easy to understand how competitors are driving traffic acquiring customers online, enabling you to improve your own on-site performance and marketing effectiveness. For more information please contact pro@compete.com or 866-633-8390.

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