So I decided to research our own pre-Xmas shopping binge habits here on the Emerald Isle.

Using Google Insights for Search and analysing data from Oct, Nov and Dec 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 (Irish data only!), I made to the following fascinating findings as regards searches on Google in Ireland, which include the words “Buy Online”:

1. Sunday was overwhelmingly the biggest day of the week during the research period for Google searches which included “Buy Online”.
2. In each and every year studied, the first Sunday in December was the peak, followed by the last Sunday in November.
3. This year (drumroll), Ireland’s Cyber Sunday will fall on December the 6th. November the 30th will be Cyber Sunday 2.
4. Searches for “Christmas Gift” will grow throughout the first 2 weeks of December and then peak around about the 15th of December (there are no day of the week trends here). This is most likely people researching purchases online prior to consummating them offline.

3 other interesting facts about online shopping in Ireland:

1. In 2008 36% of Irish people made an online purchase. We are ranked 10th in the world for online buyers.
2. 54% of Irish consumers research offline purchases online first.
3. In 2008, only 20% of people said they would not use the internet for Xmas shopping at all.

So online stores, stock your shelves or prepare to drop-ship like Contepomi, Cyber-Sunday is trundling your way!

According to IAB UK: Online Advertising expenditure grew 4.6% to reach £1.7 billion in the first 6 months of 2009, overtaking TV for the first time.

63% of this online expenditure was on paid earch (Google Adwords et al). Which is viewed by many advertisers as “recession friendly”, leading it to grow 12% from the same period in 2008.

In the UK 23% of advertising expenditure goes online.

The European average is approx 11%.

Last like figure for Ireland is from 2007 when a whopping 3% of advertising expenditure went online. Let’s pick up the slack Ireland!

For info on our Google Adwords PPC services click here.

For info on our Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) services click here.

Brandosaurus?

I would have asked questions such as: “Why would a company spend vast sums of money on display advertising attempting to communicate with people who may or may not ever be interested in their product? Especially now when they can tap into the rivers of people actively searching for their services on search engines such as Google & Yahoo, with their credit cards at the ready.”

I would have also rammed home salient points such as: “Surely only after every last click from all available search engines had been gleened would a company start trying to inform and persuade new customers to consider buying their product via branding!”

However, I have recently changed my views on the importance of branding in the marketing mix, here’s why:

1/ Top Searched Terms

The screengrab below illustrates the most searched terms in Ireland over the last 30 days. We can see that 14 of the 20 entries are brand names. This indicates that people are very likely to search for brands they are familiar with. The user often knows who they want to buy from before they go to a search engine.

2/ Google acknowledged the importance of brands to search earlier this year when they adjusted their search ranking alogarithm to favour brands for generic industry terms. Google CEO Erick Schmidt recently went so far as to describe the current state of the web as a “cesspool of false information”. Google believe brands create credible content hence the favorable rankings for established brands.

3/Specific Media recently conducted a 12 month study which shows display advertising campaigns lift searches for specific brands by 155%. Clickers who had been exposed to display advertising prior to arriving at the site were 22% more likely to purchase.

Here in OnlineAdvertising.ie, we saw further evidence of this recently when a client in the health and beauty sector invested in a display campaign (Google Adwords Content Network) with a budget equal to their Google Adwords Search Campaign. 3 months later the monthly volume of searches on Google for their brand have lifted 56% on their previous level and is increasing month on month.

The 3 points above illustrate that all the marketing activities which the consumer was exposed to before they landed on the site count. Firstly branding will increase searches for, and hence, visits to, a website. Then the website will benefit from an increased conversion rate as people have a prior relationship with, and trust in, their brand.

As with all symbiotic relationships the benefits flow both ways: Display advertising boosts search advertising clicks and conversions while Search gives key metrics for measuring the success of a branding display campaign.

Branding is sowing the seeds which will both increase market size and your market share. Search marketing is the harvesting of demand within your market and for your brand. They skip happily into the sunset hand in hand!

Click here for info on our Google Adwords Search Marketing Services

Click here for info on our Display and Banner Advertising Services

Welcome the to first OnlineAdvertising.ie blog post.

When explaining the features of Online Advertising, I often feel it is so superior to it’s “offline old man” (bespectacled, wooly jumper wearing, slippered old fella) that to refer to this super-efficient, new school of digital activities simply as another form of advertising, is to do it an injustice.

I believe online advertising mediums such as Search Engine Marketing, Social Networks, Online Videos & TV, Blogs & Online Newspapers have so much more to offer both advertiser and consumer, that they warrant their own title; so I have decided to relabel them as “Advertising 2.0″.

“What is Advertising 1.0 then?” I hear you ask. Advertising 1.0 is what we know as “Traditional Advertising”, or “Offline Advertising”, basically all advertising pre-internet(could PI usurp BC?)! Most popular mediums include TV, Press, Radio & Outdoor.

So what are the differences between the 2?

Here we go:

1. Context of Adview- Advertising 2.0 is interaction-based advertising while 1.0 is interruption-based advertising. Lets face it, nobody turns on the TV or radio to see or hear advertising. There are numerous locations online where relevant useful advertising is welcomed by the user.

   

2. Measureability- In Advertising 2.0 every section, of every campaign in 100% measurable. This facilitates calculation of Return on Investment and the Ongoing Optimisation of campaigns.

   

3. Pricing - In advertising 2.0 costs only accrue when an advertisee indicates their interest in the product by clicking on the ad. This is obviously a superior model than pricing based on adviews alone.

   

4. Distance from Point of Adview to Point of Purchase/Contact- The 2.0 advertisee can navigate from point of adview to point of purchase/contact within seconds. This solves the “Leaky Bucket Syndrome” found between adview and purchase/contact in Advertising 1.0.

   

5. General Campaign Objective - The thrust of Advertising 1.0 has traditionally been brand awareness. Due to it’s advantageous features, Advertising 2.0 is more direct and is geared towards increasing sales and enquiries.

   

As you can see Advertising 2.0 is a more efficient and better value way for companies to grow their business.

Every year an increasing proportion of the Irish population move an increasing portion of their lives online (shopping, banking, socialising, working etc). This demonstrates that beyond the above stated advantages, “Advertising 2.0″ is now an essential part of every businesses marketing mix.

Get More Online,

Alan

Got anything too add? Disagree? Please pop your thoughts in the comments. We’d love to hear from you.