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Offline conversion 'boosted' by search engines
A new survey has found that internet search engines are boosting offline business, acting as a means to find a company or service that is then contacted offline.Nielsen//NetRatings and WebVisible found that seven in ten (70 per cent) of those with internet access use online searches to find offline services, with almost half (46 per cent) having done so in the last 90 days.
Interestingly, more than two thirds (68 per cent) said they would use a telephone number listed on a firm's website to get in touch, illustrating the importance of managing an effective offline presence as well as website optimisation.
"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 Kirsten Mangers, chief executive officer of WebVisible.
"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," she added.
The study therefore suggests that an SEO strategy is important even to companies which do the majority of their business offline, particularly as consumers average less than three web searches when looking for an offline business or service.
Yahoo! News posted on 14 December 2006
