Despite it being common knowledge that most people in the market do the bulk of their research online, there has been minimal information available on how this online research process works. There is limited data available as to the types of sites house hunters look for, how many sites they visit or even how long the research process typically lasts. For marketers and property businesses, understanding how the property seekers’ consumer journey online looks is key to planning effective marketing campaigns.


This is why, earlier this year, Google commissioned a‘clickstream’ study with Nielsen to establish some clear insights into the property space online. The primary objective for the study was to obtain an in depth understanding of the user journey towards finding a new home online.

A report on the key findings from the study is available on Property Drum's December 2010 issue.

Posted by James Bacon & Bickey Russell, Local Team

Our Google on the street team have been out talking to consumers once again. This time, the talking point was restaurants...

The internet has dramatically changed how people research where to go for a meal or their takeaway choices. Last year, 62% of diners researched online prior to booking, 80% of these then wanting to book online. It is estimated that by the end of 2010, there will be a 50%-100% increase in the number of people engaging in such behaviour [1].

Online vouchers and promotions are also becoming increasingly widespread. In 2009, searches for "restaurant vouchers" grew by 250% year on year in the UK [2] and this year, one in four customers who have been to a pizza/pasta restaurant within the last three months have been motivated by special promotions or discounts [3].

With a series of specially commissioned vox pops, we listened to consumers' opinions around the following themes:

The Research Process

• How do consumers decide where to go for a meal?
  
• Are they using the internet to make these decisions?

Reviews

• Are restaurant user reviews an important factor when deciding where to go?
  
• Are consumers keen to write reviews?

Booking online

• Are consumers making restaurant reservations or ordering take away solely online?

Promotions

• Are they downloading vouchers or using online promotions for a meal?
  
• Do promotions play a role when they are deciding where to go?

Mobile

• Do they use mobile internet to find out about restaurants? If so, how are they using mobile internet for this purpose?

So, is online on the menu for restaurant goers? Watch our short videos to find out...

[1] American Express, 2009
[2] Google Insights for Search, December 2009
[3] Mintel, October 2010


Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

The online dating sector is growing fast. From more specialised match-making websites to more niche communities, the manner in which consumers are seeking dating services online is changing all the time too.



Where the industry goes from here will be very interesting to see over the next eighteen months and it's worth highlighting some big trends coming out in the first half of the year.

The reports linked below provide an overview of some rising trends in online dating:

Mobile dating comes of age

The link between online dating and beauty products

A look at the popularity of Muslim dating


Posted by Bickey Russell, Local Team

Internet usage on mobiles is exploding and the search for properties online is growing too. This market snapshot focuses on the rising relevance of mobile to property advertisers looking at new and effective ways to reach their target audiences.


Key highlights from the report:

• Over the last two years, property searches from mobile devices have grown at a rate of 190%.

• Use of location in property queries from mobile devices has accelerated faster than overall mobile property searches.

• Growth in queries related to first time buyers from mobile phones have grown by 226% year on year.

The complete paper is available for download here.


Posted by Bickey Russell, Local Team

We're pleased to announce the release of our latest whitepaper, "The Road Towards Recovery".


During this new period of gradual growth and expansion in the housing market, the ways in which individuals engage in the search for property online have also been marked by dramatic changes. Using a combination of Google internal data and third-party resources, the paper will explore the following areas to do with latest trends within the property market and online property search:

• The growing importance of the internet in the property space.

• The value of search as a market metric and evolving search behaviour.

• The latest trends and related opportunities.

To learn more, please download the paper here.


Posted by Bickey Russell, Local Team

Here we share a quick market snapshot which highlights latest trends and insights in the UK online recruitment sector.

The first quarter of 2010 has seen interesting changes in the search behaviour of jobseekers online. With searching for Public Sector jobs continuing to increase, interest in admin and sales positions have seen even greater uplift in 2010. Overall, more users are searching using specific locations in their search terms. Q1 2010 has seen queries rise over 100% year-on-year for jobs in Birmingham, Scotland and London. While queries related to specific employers have seen growth, there has also been an uplift in potential job advertisers searching for queries such as “post jobs”.

This market snapshot gives an updated view of user search behaviour across the sector as a whole. It highlights more granular search insights and trends, regional interest in search activity, the type of searching, and job advertiser queries.

Please download the paper here.

Posted by Bickey Russell, Senior Industry Analyst, Local Team