Hitwise have further expanded the capabilities of their search intelligence tool to provide marketers with an even greater insight into search market trends.
Whilst there is a wealth of information available out there on marketing spend by industry, Hitwise now gives us the capability to see each industry’s reliance on paid search. Enhancements to the tool now allow us to report on what % of each industry’s search traffic comes from paid search. Whilst in many cases this supports trends many were already aware of, as ever it is hugely valuable to be able to see this as actual solid data.
Topping the list with 45% of traffic from paid search is the insurance industry, followed by utilities (37%), shopping & classifieds (26%), and travel (25%) whilst at the other end of the spectrum Entertainment and News & Media have very little reliance on paid search (4.5% and 3% respectively) due to the content rich nature of sites within these sectors.
Similarly the tool allows us to break this down further and examine the sub-categories within these industries, so for example we can see that within the retail sub-sector appliances & electronics, house & garden, and computers all relied on paid search for over 30% of their search traffic, as opposed to grocery & alcohol at just 13%. Interestingly, despite the minimal showing in paid search, grocery sales represent almost a quarter of online sales by revenue (Source: Verdict research. E-Retail 2008).
It will be interesting to see how these rates evolve over the coming months as the credit crunch starts to bite in successive industries. In particular though this tool will really come into its own informing search strategy and highlighting the necessity for a different approach by industry.