Consumers Increasingly Use Search after Seeing Ads
RESTON, VA, April 7, 2008 – Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released results of a study into the role search plays in the online auto insurance market. The study, based on findings from the Comscore Marketer service, analyzed the productivity of search-generated leads, the efficacy of different search marketing techniques, and the actions consumers take after seeing an advertisement. The results are summarized below and will be presented in greater depth during a free, public webinar on Tuesday, April 8, 2008 at 2:00 PM EDT/11:00 AM PDT (details below).
The study found that the number of search-referred quotes grew to 8.9 million in 2007, a 36-percent increase versus the previous year. This is particularly impressive when compared to the 15-percent overall growth in the number of online auto insurance quotes requested in 2007.
Growth in Online Auto Insurance QuotesTotal U.S. – Home/Work/University LocationsSource: Comscore, Inc.
Number of Requested Quotes (000)
2006
2007
Percent Change
Search-referred Quotes
6,555
8,892
36%
Total Quotes
28,061
32,353
15%
“In 2007, more than a quarter of all online auto insurance quotes were referred by a search engine,” said Kevin Levitt, Comscore vice president. “With cost-per-clicks rising, especially for the most competitive generic terms, search marketers need tactical competitive intelligence to optimize their search spending.”
Generic Paid Search Terms Yield Highest Rate of Quote Requests
The study also examined the impact of branded versus generic search terms as well as the impact of paid versus organic links on the number of auto insurance quote requests. It revealed that clicks on paid links from generic search terms were most likely to result in a completed quote request. In fact, 33percent of search-referred visits from generic paid search resulted in a completed quote request compared to 22 percent of generic organic search and 19 percent of branded paid search.
Percent of Search-Referred Visits Resulting in a Completed Quote Request by Search TypeFull Year 2007Total U.S. – Home/Work/University LocationsSource: Comscore, Inc.
Search Term Type
% Resulting in
Completed Quote
Branded Organic
11%
Branded Paid
19%
Generic Organic
22%
Generic Paid
33%
Consumers More Likely to Use Search after Seeing an Ad
In addition to analyzing their actual online behavior, Comscore also asked consumers what action they would take if they wanted more information after seeing an auto insurance advertisement. The survey found that second only to visiting the Web site specified in the advertisement (26 percent), respondents reported they would most likely use search (22 percent) to find more information about a company. The percentage of respondents that said they would use search to find a Web site or company jumped 8 points versus last year to 22 percent, underscoring consumers’ increasing reliance on search.
Consumer Activity After Seeing an Auto Insurance AdvertisementTotal U.S. – Home/Work/University LocationsSource: Comscore, Inc.
Consumer Activity
Percent of Respondents
2008
Point Change
Visit a web site specified in the ad
29%
26%
-3
Use search engine to find a website for the company
14%
8
Visit the company website to find the name/phone number of a local agent
16%
20%
4
Call a toll free number in the ad
13%
9%
-4
Not sure
-6
Look online at a site other than the company website for name/phone number of a local agent
8%
0
Look offline for the name/phone number of the local agent
6%
7%
1
About Comscore Auto Insurance SolutionsComscore Auto Insurance Solutions provides insight into online quoting, purchasing, and servicing activity. Comscore’s products include competitive benchmarking, source of traffic analyses, abandonment studies, site usage analyses, search marketing, audience profiling and segmentation, surveys and online focus groups, and the measurement of advertising effectiveness.
About ComscoreComscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/boilerplate