A report from the DAC Group found that 71 percent of enterprise purchase decisions in the United States begin with research conducted on a search engine. Canadian businesses are following a similar upward trend, with 61 percent turning to search to make the best decision on a business purchase.
The change in research patterns is expected to continue as it has in recent years, with the eventual phasing out of other channels, according to the DAC Group. For marketers, the shift requires a similar adjustment in the focus of their campaigns.
Gone are the days of outdated media, such as newspaper and direct mail, positively benefiting business as a whole. Reaching certain demographics still requires these platforms. However, the web’s ultimate selling point is the ability to create more campaigns on several platforms that target any number of audiences.
Whether it’s content marketing with SEO or email marketing, the web provides a platform to reach millions of users at any point of the day. Given search’s popularity, developing content most likely to improve search ranking is among the best methods a company can use to augment the success and visibility of its web marketing campaigns.
Google’s Matt Cutts has urged businesses using content marketing and other forms of SEO to focus solely on the overall quality of their websites. Brafton recently reported that Cutts has been vigilant in telling businesses that SEO is not spam, but low-quality web content will negatively impact any website’s standing.
