GRAPH 3
NEARLY 1 IN 2 CONVERTERS CLICK ON SPONSORED LINKS
Use of Search Total
Use search at any point in the journey
Searchers who use sponsored searches
Average number of searches*
GRAPH 4 83% OF SEARCHES INCLUDED GENERIC TERMS
Brand v Generic Searches (Converters) % of Searches
Generic 72%
Sample generic terms: •property for sale •property to buy in •new homes Paxton
•buy home London
Close Richmond
Brand with Other 11%
Brand only Terms 17%
Base: Those that visit property sites and convert
92%of all searchers have used a generic
term at least once 76% 36% 11.4
Base: Those that visit property sites and convert
Converter
86% 43% 15.6
GRAPH 3– SPONSORED LINKS
The research showed that using Google AdWords (Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising programme is a great way to reach an audience already searching for the properties that you want to promote. Nearly one in two property seekers online had clicked on a sponsored link. The enhanced targeting and relevancy of PPC means that when a user clicks on a sponsored link, they are 30 per cent more likely to convert on the property website they visit. This is a substantial increase and provides further evidence of the added value generated by paid search campaigns. PPC offers advertisers the opportunity to target Google users
based on the searches they conduct. Text ads can then be placed in the ‘Sponsored Links’ section of the Google results page. The position of an advertiser’s ad within the sponsored links section depends on an auction that takes into account what that advertiser is willing to pay for a click on their ad, the ad’s relevance and a number of other factors.
GRAPH 4– 83% OF SEARCHES INCLUDED GENERIC TERMS
We looked closely at visitors’ actual online search behaviour and the results were fascinating. One of the major stories was that ‘generic’ searches, (ie, queries that do not include a brand term such as “property for sale”, “two bedroom apartment in Birmingham”), dominate consumer search behaviour. Over 70 per cent of all searches on Google are generic with just 17 per cent being brand term only and 11 per cent including a combination of both. This is an incredibly high proportion of generic terms and is driven primarily by the use of locations terms in search queries. In other sectors such as Finance, it is typical to see generic searches forming 20-30 per cent of all searches. We often find that people first search on a generic term, then finish their journey on a brand term, however in this study we found that 75 per cent started and finished with a generic search. This would suggest that property seekers are not particularly brand loyal and therefore it is more of a challenge to get them to return to your site and convert with you. Over 80 per cent of users include a location ‘tag’ in their search
top five online marketing tips 1 Be found online
81 per cent of UK Internet users enter websites through a search engine (Source: Forrester) so your priority should be to make sure you are visible on the results pages – in the natural listings, in paid listings or in both for maximum effect. 2 Be open – don’t close your shop! Imagine that you’re a shopkeeper, it is getting close to closing time and you still have a queue of people at the checkout waiting to pay. Do you shut up shop and turn them all away or do you stay open longer and sell them the goods? Hopefully it’s the latter! The Internet is always open and potential homebuyers are searching, investigating and engaging 24/7. If you only run your online marketing during traditional branch/development opening hours you will almost certainly be missing out on valuable leads.
3 Measure everything Use a web analytics package to measure the performance of your website. This will allow you to understand the behaviour of your visitors on site, ie how many pages they look at, how long they spend etc. Crucially it will help identify problems such as high bounce rates (when someone clicks through to the site then leaves immediately). Secondly, use web analytics to measure the performance of your various online marketing campaigns. Whether it’s email campaigns, banner advertising or AdWords this will tell you how each has performed vs the goals you set. This will help you shape your online marketing strategy based on the best ROI. 4 Test and improve your website
Often the look and feel of a business’s website is decided by one person and is based on opinion or feeling. We believe in using hard data to make these decisions.
Therefore use a product like Website Optimizer to test different variations of your pages to see which performs best. We used this on our own AdWords sign up page and increased signs ups by 56 per cent Improving conversion in this way will mean you get a better ROI from your online marketing and ultimately positively impact your bottom line. 5 Innovate and engage
It’s clear that engagement is the key to turning site visitors to actual leads. The best way is to provide a good user experience and innovate on your site. Property seekers enjoy using maps to search for property so implement a maps solution. Consider using video to bring products and properties to life. Floor plans are key, make sure they are easy to find and view and mobile searches are set to overtake desktop searches so make sure your site is easy to use on a mobile, ideally create a specific mobile site.
14 DECEMBER 2010 PROPERTYdrum
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