Nielsen//NetRatings and WebVisible Study: Measuring a Website's Ability to Drive Offline Purchases for Small Businesses

December 14, 2006; 12:37 AM

A new study from the global leader in Internet media and market research, Nielsen//NetRatings, and WebVisible, a leading software platform provider to the local interactive advertising industry, announced today the results of a landmark study that explores the use of search engines in driving offline purchases.

The study revealed that after doctors, florists, plumbers and other professionals who make up the service industry are found online, they are significantly benefiting from "offline conversion" -- the act of shopping online and purchasing offline. This is the first Internet survey of its kind designed to measure a website's ability to drive offline conversion for local service advertisers.

"Consumers searching Google for a local service vendor shop very differently from those in e-retail on Amazon or eBay where a transaction occurs online," said WebVisible CEO, Kirsten Mangers. "Ultimately, it's targeted advertising driving traffic to a quality website that is the recipe for getting my phone to ring if I'm a carpet cleaner, attorney or dentist."

Below are key findings from the report titled, "I Searched, I Clicked, I Contacted... I Transacted":

CONSUMERS USE SEARCH BECAUSE IT WORKS FOR THEM

-- 70% of Internet users report using search engines to find a local service; 46% in the last 90 days.
-- When searching for a local service website, searchers find what they want quickly -- averaging less than 3 searches.
-- Nearly 90% are happy with the results they get when they search locally for services.

SERVICE SEEKERS USE WEBSITES & MULTIPLE METHODS TO MAKE CONTACT

-- 68% said they would use the phone number on the website to contact a vendor.
-- 16% said they would contact a vendor by the e-mail address on the website.
-- 11% said they would contact the vendor via an online form found on the website.
-- 6% said they would visit the vendor in person after viewing the website.

The survey results show that a website is an essential bridge in creating communication between service vendors and shoppers, which often leads to an offline conversion. With high frequency, shoppers who first identify a potential vendor by visiting a website are likely to take additional action, either by calling, e-mailing, visiting in person or contacting vendors by other means. Additional conversion data could be mined from the 6% that travels directly to the service vendor's physical business location.

SIGNS OF LATENT OR REPEAT OFFLINE CUSTOMERS

When contacting a local service vendor more than once after finding them using search:

-- 35% had saved the phone number.
-- 27% searched a second time.
-- 23% has bookmarked a service vendor's website.
-- 5% used a phone book to find the service vendor.

This data suggests that a very high percentage (60%) of searchers are able to recall a vendor's contact information after the initial search by either saving the number or by using a bookmark. This availability of recall is likely to lead to repeat or latent business based on a single search experience especially when 89% reported contact with a vendor a second time.

WORD OF MOUTH CREATES OFFLINE BUZZ FOR SERVICES

54% of those that had searched for a local service in the past 90 days had referred a friend to a local business or service provider that they found through online search. This is how they did it:

-- 59% verbally recommended the service to a friend or family member.
-- 38% e-mailed a link to a friend or family member.
-- 3% wrote a favorable review on a consumer website.

A secondary benefit to local merchants is that nearly 60% of referrals made by consumers are still word of mouth after they find merchants on the web. Writing favorable reviews is rare perhaps because consumer review websites are often used to post negative experiences, not positive ones.

WHEN CONSUMERS ARE READY TO TRANSACT, THEY USE SPONSORED LINKS

The most commonly searched services are:

-- 36% medical service
-- 32% automotive services
-- 26% home or office repair services
-- 23% financial services
-- 9% landscaping services
-- Half of the individuals were likely to click one or more sponsored links in these instances.
-- An average 72% of those that clicked a sponsored link also called the vendor.
-- An average 70% of those that clicked and called also made a purchase.

When consumers are ready to transact, they use sponsored links. While the frequency of this behavior will vary from vendor to vendor, the fact is that the large majority of searchers who click on sponsored links and contact service vendors will end up making a purchase.

GEO-KEYWORD USE IS POPULAR AMONG SERVICE SEEKERS

Of those that searched for a local service in the past 90 days:

-- 51% used a general term to search ("dentist").
-- 49% used a general service term and regional term ("dentist in Cleveland").
-- 23% used a specific business name ("Dr. Bob's Dental").
-- 19% used a specific service term to search ("root canal"). (Respondents answered more than one)

67% of searchers ages 18-24 use a geographic keyword when searching locally for services, illustrating how younger search users are adapting to the language efficiencies of local search. Effective local targeting, including geo-modifiers, is imperative when campaigns are established. This includes not only state and city names but permutations of those locations. For example, a person searching in San Francisco might use "SF," "Bay Area," or "North Beach." By comparison of the same 18-24 age group, the Yellow Pages method of searching for a specific business name is only at 28%. Vanity or "white pages" search is also important as many consumers will search by a business name, especially the second time.

METHODOLOGY:

During the month of August 2006, WebVisible, in partnership with Nielsen//NetRatings, asked nearly 2,866 U.S. Internet users about their experiences in searching for local service providers.

Data was fine-tuned by Nielsen//NetRatings' weighting procedures to ensure maximum accuracy in reporting. Responses were gathered from randomly selected individuals in the Nielsen//NetRatings MegaPanel. For the purposes of this document, all percentages were rounded to the nearest whole number.

DEMOGRAPHICS:

The Internet users polled for this survey were selected so that the whole of the results would demographically represent Nielsen//NetRatings' model for the average U.S. Internet user population in age, household income and gender.

SOURCING:

When using data for business initiatives, please source the data as "A Nielsen//NetRatings and WebVisible survey, 2006."

About WebVisible™

Established in 2001, WebVisible is a leading software and technology provider to the local online advertising industry.

Our proprietary software, Geneva, is a scalable platform for creating and managing local interactive advertising products. We integrate directly with a network of over 30 top search engines including Google and Yahoo!. WebVisible provides an exchange between private label resellers of our local advertising products, search engines, and other online media providers, creating one of the largest independent exchanges of its kind. WebVisible's technology automates the account management, media provisioning, bid, budget, and reporting processes, allowing an affordable, turn-key online advertising solution for local businesses all over the world.

WebVisible's service suite includes local search marketing, locally targeted banner advertising, fixed placement ads, profile and landing page technologies, and call-related services packages. All products are privately branded and sold by a growing list of resellers in the yellow pages, newspaper and online marketing industries.

For more information, please visit www.webvisible.com or call (949) 502-5757. Subscribe to a blog feed at www.webvisible.com/blog