Consumers doing searches on AOL were more likely to buy products online in January than on any other search engine, according to a study by Web analytics firm WebSideStory.
For the month, AOL converted searches to sales at a rate of 6.17%, followed by MSN Search with 6.03%, Yahoo! at 4.07% and Google at 3.83%.
All four conversion rates were far above the median average for conversions at all search engines. That rate was 1.97% in January, slightly off the 2.3% total media average for the previous three-month period.
According to WebSideStory senior digital marketing consultant Ali Behnam, differences in demographics may account for the variance in conversion rates among the four leading search engines. “With portals rich in content and services, AOL, MSN and Yahoo! may tend to appeal to a more buyer-friendly demographic,” he said in a release. “Google, meanwhile, may appeal to more browsers—those with less of an intent to buy. All of this suggests search engine marketers may want to consider demographics in allocating their budgets.”
The study was compiled by examining conversions at B-to-C Web sites that use WebSideStory’s Internet-based HBX analytics solutions; the sites generate a total of $3 billion in online sales. Conversion rates are for both paid search advertising and natural search listings.
