June 7, 2005

Google just undertook a study with Millward Brown to demonstrate how search advertising is much more effective than traditional ads in trade publications and other B2B mediums.

Millward Brown polled 900 technology professionals with involvement in purchasing in enterprise application software, security software and server storage.

The online poll found search was used 30 percent more frequently than trade periodicals in the research phase of the buying cycle. Search was 21 percent more frequently used than the b-to-b press in the consideration phase and 62 percent more in the final purchase phase.

"I think the reason it's taken the business-to-business advertisers longer is that it is a longer sales cycle and it's harder to track," said John Topping, director of Google's b-to-b ad unit.

Google executives have spoken of expanding the company's advertiser base, moving search marketing beyond its reliance on e-commerce companies.

Topping said Google undertook the study in order to prove to business-to-business advertisers that search plays a key role in corporate purchases, since most of those transactions occur offline.

More than half of the survey's respondents said they used search engines to research purchases: 40 percent during consideration and 20 percent during the final purchase phase.

In addition to ads on its search engine, Google shows ads on several business Web sites, including Adweek parent VNU, Reed Business, Hanley Wood and Ziff Davis Media.

Source: Ad Week.com