SEO marketers should be happy to learn that organic search results may have the biggest impact on consumers' purchase decisions. A recent survey from Bank of America relayed by Business Insider suggests that the search giant is the No. 1 stop for shopping research.
Nearly half of consumers polled say Google is the first step in their online shopping rituals. While people in the internet marketing industry frequently refer to the battle between Google and Facebook, the survey found that just 3 percent of Facebook users are less likely to turn to Google because of Facebook.
In fact, 17 percent of respondents say they use Google more thanks to Facebook. (Meanwhile, just 1 percent of respondents say their first shopping step is Facebook research.) Marketers should take this as their cue to plan content marketing strategies that span both search and social channels to encourage cross-platform brand engagement and drive optimal levels of traffic to their sites.
Also, brands looking to integrate social advocacy with search engine marketing might consider adding the new Google +1 button to their content pages. As Brafton has reported, the plugin adds a layer of social data to standard search results by displaying +1 information for highly recommended results.
