Joint research from comScore, Procter & Gamble, Yahoo! and SEMPO reveals that roughly 44 percent of traffic to consumer packaged goods sites comes from search, and that those searchers spend 20 percent in-store, in-category within a month of their search activity.

"We're starting to see brand advertiser interest in search translate into integrated display and search media plans," Matt Wilburn, Yahoo's senior director, CPG told Online Media Daily. "But there's been a great desire for more information and data around the consumer aspect of search. The majority of search studies have been about click-stream data or CPMs and CPAs, and this was aimed at trying to provide more CPG insights."

According to Randy Peterson, Procter & Gamble's search innovation manager: "Search may be one of the most effective means of reaching qualified consumers when and where they are most receptive to learning about our brands. Ultimately, this drives offline sales."