Importance of Appearing in Search Engine Results

The proverb, “Seek and you will find.” has proven most beneficial to Google in Quarter 3. Google reported a 41% revenue rise in the Quarter 3. Total revenue hit US$65b, up from US$46b in the same quarter last year. Search advertising alone contributed almost US$38b, while YouTube, world’s second largest search engine US$7.2b. What does this mean for your business? Well, in basic terms, with the shift in shopping trends as a result of the pandemic, brands have shifted their marketing approach to adapt to the new trends.

Search queries for purchasing food and toiletries increased three times the amount in March 2020 and gradually tapered down to two times the amount in June 2020. A 100% growth in online shopping queries provided a strong reason for brands to realise where to focus their marketing spend.

Now, as restrictions and lockdowns ease and restrictions and the world begins to reopen, consumers are returning to stores and shopping instore. Consumers are still online researching and looking for options. In addition, the searches for ‘open near me’ have increased up to four times as high when lockdowns and restrictions eased.

What does the future hold? After seeing the change in the landscape, it if difficult to predict. But one thing is certain - brands now need to consider an omnichannel approach.

Consumers have a vast majority of options to shop from. For example, the food industry has a new space – ‘Cloud Kitchen’, an option to setup your own business without the need of a physical store. This is supported by companies offering delivery as a service – like Uber Eats, Menulog and Deliveroo.

Ecommerce has been adopted to a large extent and it has made the consumer user experience and buyer journey more convenient. Ecommerce shops always had delivery as an option, but now offer a simple Click and Collect. Automobile service brands have started pick and drop service with complete sanitising as a standard offering.

A digital presence is a must have and connecting digital to your business is the next step to take. Brands are working with their marketing teams, agencies and ad platforms to develop new marketing strategies to grow in this new avenue.

Sillyfish works with its clients to ensure that the digital foundation is set strong before heading towards bigger goals. For ecommerce clients, we have helped integrate the Google Merchant centre and Facebook Marketplace with their website backend. Taking this a step further, we’ve promoted these through paid media platforms like the Google Search and Google Shopping feed to gain traction.