Internet advertising's influence on purchase decisions finds Yahoo No. 1 overall and Google No. 4.
According to BIGresearch's latest Simultaneous Media Study (SIMM) of more than 15,000 respondents (December 2005), Google search engine users are most influenced on purchase decisions to buy electronics (30.5 percent), Yahoo is second (27.5 percent), MSN third (24.9 percent), AOL fourth (23.9 percent) and Ask Jeeves ranked fifth (20.8 percent). Google also finishes first regarding purchases of telecom services (10.3 percent) with Yahoo and MSN tied for second (10.1 percent).
However, Yahoo finishes No. 1 with home improvement and Google finishes fourth in this category. Yahoo is also on top for medicines (Google is No. 5); and Yahoo finishes first for eating out and Google is third.
Other number one categories: MSN finishes first on car/truck purchase decisions at 12.6 percent; AOL finishes first for apparel/clothing (17.8 percent) and grocery (13.5 percent).
If we tally the ranking of search engines' influence on category purchase decisions we find Yahoo at No. 1, with a score of 13, with first or second place finishes in every category; MSN No. 2 at 21; AOL No. 3 at 23; Google No. 4 at 26 and Ask Jeeves No. 5 at 32.
What this means for advertisers and marketers: Yahoo is the best place for internet advertising to have a direct effect on purchase decision by category of merchandise.
Influence of Internet Advertising on Purchase Decisions by Search Engine Preference
