Search Marketing Works For B-to-B

Research firm Millward Brown has recently completed a study on behalf of Google It's not officially published, but the findings have been published by Information Week.

"The study shows that in the research phase, buyers turned to search 30% more frequently than trade publications, the next most popular source of information.

During the final purchase phase, buyers used search 62% more often than trade publications. Across the various phases of IT purchasing, from research to comparison to buying, search ranked second as a source of information, behind manufacturer Web sites."

Even if the report was financed from Google, a spokesperson from JupiterResearch tells the reporter that the report is matching their own findings.

This can't be any surprise to anyone?

The Trade publication is a periodical. Old issues are not easy to get, when you need them. Yellow pages might have the contact details and the map, but will not give you any product information or company background.

By using search and the company web page the buyer saves time and at the same time gets a good market overview.

My conclusion is that B-to-B search advertising is not only here to stay, it is also likely to grow in importance to most B-to-B advertisers.

When reading this, please note that I work within the search marketing industry.