Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-social-sites-have-little-effect-on-where-you-buy-stuff-online-2011-4

While Google is “super nervous” about the growth of Facebook, here’s one data point to put the search company at ease for right now.

According to a Goldman Sachs survey, social sites have very little influence over online shopping decisions. Search engines, and recommendation engines have a much greater influence.

As long as Google has influence over shopping habits, it will continue to pull in big ad dollars. Advertisers tend to want to advertise where there’s a chance a purchasing decision can be influenced.

However, in the not too distant future Facebook could become an e-commerce juggernaut with more influence over online shopping. If and when that happens, Google should be really worried.

Follow the Chart Of The Day on Twitter: @chartoftheday

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See Also:

• CHART OF THE DAY: Myspace’s Revenue Collapse
• CHART OF THE DAY: Apple’s Developer Conference Is The Hottest Ticket In Town
• Shhh…Groupon Is Actually A Chinese Import

Source: http://www.emarketer.com/(X(1)S(i4pkta45qwgxvq55emzq0vfn))/Article.aspx?R=1008302

Social media is the top online marketing channel for small businesses after company websites

UPDATE: Nearly two in five CMOs say their biggest challenge is “integrating and tracking multiple channels,” according to a recent survey by Aprimo and Argyle Executive Forum. In light of that finding, I thought I’d reprise a column that I wrote last year and use it to discuss correlating relative ROI (define) across channels like TV, print, radio, and online banner ads.

Lift in search volume for particular terms – like non-generic brand names – is useful because it indicates that the target customers not only saw the ads, but also remembered them and then took action. It is a better metric than those that only estimate whether ads were even seen or heard – i.e., reach and frequency-based metrics. This even works well for online banner or branding campaigns because it is not the click-through from those ads that we are concerned with, it is the lift in search volume that indicates interest and intent. The habit of search by modern users is now commonplace; as they all go online to look for additional information before making a purchase decision, we now have a universally applicable metric to correlate the effectiveness (and thus the relative ROI) of advertising across channels.

What about absolute ROI? We’ve got that covered too. Beyond lift in search volume, with proper analytics on online destinations, advertisers can track where customers came from, calculate how many took desirable actions like completing a purchase or printing a coupon (for items purchased offline). With these metrics, advertisers can correlate with other known data such as conversion rates of coupons, etc., to derive real-world ROI, scientifically. Obviously there are nuances and caveats, but if applied carefully these methods can help CMOs overcome what keeps them up at night.

Read More:  How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising

Erik_SontumClickZ: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising. http://bit.ly/ardDy5 via @tomtsinas #merkevare

acfou@clickZ How to calculate relative ROI across channels using lift in search volume #ROI #IntegratedMarketing - http://bit.ly/g5FUu

Carroll_PowellRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

hilloupayjouRT @travelwithdayo: Solid article on how to use Search to Calculate Ad Awareness ROI: http://bit.ly/aHqGQV #SEO #Advertising

iamgfcRT @clickz How to Use Search to Calculate the #ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

jumpcurveRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

SthdesignRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT

lawton_chilesRT @TomPick: RT @clickz How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

RobHerremaRT @clickz How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

chead95Good article, but Search misses other brand relationships – RT @clickz Using Search to Calculate ROI of Awareness Ads-http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

doughayRT @clickz How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

mobiaconRT @eMarketer: “How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou”

ADMAFORUMRT @dpletikosa: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising http://www.clickz.com/3633054

dpletikosaHow to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising http://www.clickz.com/3633054

KristenShueRT @TomPick: RT @clickz How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

TomPickRT @clickz How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

joskouiHow to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising. #Search, #ROI, #Marketing, #Advertising http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

followtorontoRT @tomtsinas: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising | http://bit.ly/ardDy5

vidaimaginariaHow to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou @eMarketer

conversionationHow to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://ow.ly/1QSFR – very interesting for the integrated thinkers

micheleguidoRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

ChrissyZhouLeverage search marketing to boost up your bottom line http://www.clickz.com/3633054

AdvertisingPRCalculate the #ROI of Awareness #Advertising through #Search http://bit.ly/99y2HG

pweiderholmRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

oleagaRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

travelwithdayoSolid article on how to use Search to Calculate Ad Awareness ROI: http://bit.ly/aHqGQV #SEO #Advertising

kingstonjrGreat article. RT @clickz How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

telerobRT @digeratti: RT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

digerattiRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

tomtsinasHow to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising | http://bit.ly/ardDy5

AgeSluisRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

Slingshot_SEORT @eMarketer How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

gailtwistRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

pathamilton3How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG

iancsouzaUsando mecanismos de buscas para ajudar no cálculo de ROI de publicidade tradicional. Útil! http://bit.ly/99y2HG (via @eMarketer e @acfou )

micklalalaHow to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou via @eMarketer

cxdigitalRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

IdeaViewsRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

NASinsightsHow to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

Lisa_CorcoranRT @eMarketer How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

RobertoCarrerasRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

eMarketerHow to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

jrmostellerRT @clickz How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

acfouCMOs bemoan inability to track ROI across channels - http://bit.ly/bAM4gu; lift in search volume can solve that - http://bit.ly/g5FUu

Microsoft should take a page from the launch of Wolfram’s Alpha using social channels.

Wolfram Alpha – 1.6 million google search results

Microsoft Kumo – 624k google search results

www.WolframAlpha.com is launched, but Microsoft Kumo.com is not even launched. So there is NO benefit from all the news coverage.

Search intensity and volume indicates interest of users — Wolfram Alpha is kicking Microsoft butt.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/wolfram-alpha-veil-lifted/

http://gizmodo.com/5240514/wolfram-alpha-and-google-tested-head+to+head

http://gizmodo.com/5236115/wolfram-alpha-search-engine-on-video

List of 2009 Superbowl spots on AdAge.com

http://adage.com/superbowl09/article?article_id=134136

Lift in search is a great indicator of interest. Modern consumers may be inspired by TV ads, but they usually go online to do more research for themselves, to inform their own purchase decision. The following examples show the lift in search after Superbowl commercials or for launch of products like Subway Footlongs. The use of unique, made-up words makes it easier to detect lift in search (see related post: made up words are great for tracking buzz and search volume ). There is now a correlation between offline paid advertising and online behaviors of modern consumers that can be tracked and ultimately related to sales. 

What is harder to do is track lift in search from smaller TV media buys or from terms which are generic — e.g. American Express OPEN, Proctor & Gamble’s TAG (men’s deoorant), etc. And furthermore, people may or may not remember the brand name itself and may type in a more general search query — e.g. “talking baby” instead of” e-Trade” or “dancing lizards” instead of “SoBe LifeWater.” And most people usually forget to type in special URLs specified in the ads. So the opportunity is to 1) use made-up words which can be used to detect lift in search and 2) search-optimize around other more generic terms that people may search for if they remembered the ad, but did not remember the brand name itself. 

key learnings include:

1. only the superbowl TV ads generates enough awareness to drive lift in search volume detectable above the noise or normal levels

2. made up words are useful in correlating paid advertising and subsequent online actions (e.g. search) because most users forget or are too lazy to type special URLs

3. is is always better to have real analytics from the site to see when paid campaigns hit; site analytics will also reveal more information about users including demographic information, what they are looking for, and even whether they “convert” to a sale or a desired action — like print off a coupon, etc.

Notice the January spikes for several of the examples below — these are their Superbowl ads in action. But also notice how sharp the spikes are — most of them go back to prior levels within 1 – 3 days (see related post: the ephemerality of the Superbowl halo )

Source: Google Insights for Search

2009 is the year of the “open agency model.” Many of the largest brands have declared that they are going “open agency mode” in search of lower cost, greater efficiency, and possibly better work. But while this idea may be good in theory, it is very difficult in practice. Having run a “virtual company” since 1996, I know of the challenges, as well as the upside. And the conventional wisdom of “you get what you pay for” holds very true here. I’ve outsourced to China and India to varying degrees of success and usually it took more time to communicate and re-communicate, do and re-do to get things right. And it ended up costing more overall, despite lower unit costs. Furthermore, most clients are brand experts of their own brand, but may not have the depth of experience in managing complex, global deployments … or perhaps even experience in managing photo shoots. Although it may be fun to go on photo shoots, but that doesn’t mean clients can manage that themselves. And having an inexperienced, small agency do it may not be that much more efficient either.

Anheuser-Busch Whacks Retainers for Its Agencies

http://adage.com/agencynews/article?article_id=134630

2009 has also been declared the year of search and social marketing. Many of the biggest brands now realize they must do something in search in order to be found when users are out looking for something. Knowing that 80% of online journeys begin with search (Forrester April 2008), it is more important than ever to be “findable” — after all, if they can’t find you, you don’t exist. Companies are also looking for efficiencies in social marketing — literally having people carry forth their message or amplify it for free. This is a good move because most modern users trust their peers far more than they trust an advertiser’s ad message anyway, according to countless studies.

barbecue recipe is seasonal (more searches in summer)

brownie recipe is not that seasonal (a little lift in December)