Only half of consumers trust search engine results. What do the other 50 percent trust?

Published on September 17, 2019

A recent study conducted by Yext and Forbes shows consumers only believe 50 percent of their search results when looking up information about brands.

Yext is a New York City technology company focusing on online brand management and Forbes, of course, is a business magazine. Over 500 consumers in the United States were surveyed for the study.

Findings

57 percent of those in the study avoid search engines and prefer to visit the brand’s official website because they believe it is more accurate.

50 percent of those surveyed use third-party sites and applications to learn more about brands. 48 percent believe a brand’s website is their most reliable source.

20 percent of “current and new customers trust social media sites to deliver brand information,” according to Search Engine Journal. 28 percent of buyers avoid buying from a certain brand after they have received inaccurate information.

Why don’t they buy?

A few reasons why consumers do not buy from a brand is due to unsatisfactory customer service, excessive requests for information and if a company’s website is not easy to navigate.

Mar Ferrentino, Chief Strategy Officer of Yext said: “Our research shows that regardless of where they search for information, people expect the answers they find to be consistent and accurate – and they hold brands responsible to ensure this is the case.”

The study says customers look at a brand’s website and search engine results for information. This information includes customer service numbers, hours, events, and a brand’s products.

A better way to market online

The three best practices that brands can use for a customer to have a seamless experience is to maintain, guarantee and monitor.

The company should maintain present-day information and complete accuracy on its website along with an easy-to-use search function. The study also tells brands “guarantee searches return high-quality results by ensuring that tools like Google My Business and other directories have updated and correct information”. Lastly, a brand needs to be active and respond to questions and posts online on social media, corporate websites and review sites.

Companies are doing their best to keep up with consumer expectations for an authentic experience.

Many people use third-party sites such as Google, Bing or Yelp because they are able to compare and categorize numerous products at once.

Consumers hesitate

New users and consumers are often hesitant and require time to build trust with a company, whereas current customers have confidence in the brand and help by writing positive reviews. 45 percent of customers “say they are usually looking for customer reviews of brands of products when they visit a third-party site” (Forbes).

Reviews determine whether consumers will avoid buying a product or if they want to continue interacting with the vendor.

True Value Company, an American wholesaler, is changing their marketing strategy to adapt to a more Internet-based audience. “We’ve made significant technology investments – including re-platforming our website – to back that up and support our brick and mortar stores for the online/offline world in which consumers live,” said David Elliot, the senior vice-president of marketing.

Despite branding on social media becoming more popular, it does not fall in the top 50 percent of most-trusted sources for brand information.

A 2008 study done by Forrester Research, an American based market research company, shows how much consumers trust different information sources. The sources range from personal emails to Yellow Pages to message board posts.

The most trusted is emails “from people you know” at 77 percent; followed by consumer product ratings/reviews at 60 percent and portal/search engines at 50 percent. The least trusted information source is a company blog at only 16 percent.

Corporate blogs are the least dependable information source to consumers as these should be the most reliable way for companies to express and share information with their audience.

The study shows the significance of a brand’s online marketing strategy. It is vital for companies to make sure their website looks like a trustworthy source.

Companies don’t need to stop blogging — but instead, have to do it in a trustworthy and engaging manner.

Want to read the full report? Click here.

Faisal Quyyumi is a News Columnist at Grit Daily. He is a Production Assistant at CNN and a former Production Intern for The Daily Show w/ Trevor Noah at Comedy Central.

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