AOL & MSN Search Convert Better than Google or Yahoo
WebSideStory, Inc. has measured the average sales conversion rates of traffic, both paid and organic, referred from the major seacrh engines during the month of January on Business to Consumer eCommerce sites.
1. AOL Search 6.17 %
2. MSN Search 6.03 %
3. Yahoo 4.07 %
4. Google 3.83%
From experience the stats make total sense as I refer to AOL and MSN as the Bingo Mom search engines. They are very friendly search engines for people who are looking to purchase a product, especially within the United States.
Google is more Poindexter; used for researching a product or browsing various market places and reviews. Someone using Google may be more apt to compare products from six or seven sites before buying when AOL, and MSN are more impulse buy oriented – almost 75% more of the time.
Yahoo is somewhere in the middle. It used to be Bingo Mom, but is now more Blogger Mom, leaning a bit towards the finicky web shopper than the AOL & MSN crowd.
The conversion rates were measured using the WebSideStory Index, a new statistical barometer that features techno-graphic and e-commerce trends culled from the millions of users that visit web sites using the company’s award-winning web analytics technology, HBX Analytics. The study includes traffic from both organic and paid keywords.
“One way to explain the difference in conversion rates is demographics,” said Ali Behnam, senior digital marketing consultant for WebSideStory. “With portals rich in content and services, AOL, MSN and Yahoo may tend to appeal toward a more buyer friendly demographic. Google, meanwhile, may appeal to more browsers – those with less of an intent to buy.”
