How COVID-19 Is Changing Search
5.5.20 | Ashleigh Wiemer
Search is an essential part of the media mix for most brands and organizations. It engages lower-funnel consumers and provides them with the most relevant brand message and content. While other media tactics may fluctuate to align with seasonality and sales, search tends to be the most consistent channel.
However, even the search landscape has changed in the last two months, including consumer behavior, marketing priorities, and ad spend. Search usage has accelerated significantly amid COVID-19. “At the peak for COVID-19 updates in March, searches for news and information spiked more than six times the peak of user activity during the Super Bowl.” [1]
Not surpisingly, search queries are fulfilling different needs than before. It is an essential tool to guide people through their new routines, roles, and lifestyle. Last month, Google published search trend data on how consumer priorities have shifted amidst COVID-19. Consumer search behavior focused on the following categories:
Assembling critical information
Discovering new connections
Adjusting to changes in their routines
Praising everyday heroes
Taking care of themselves and others [2]
Within these categories, there are opportunities for brands and organizations to align with these trends. Brands can be resources where they are needed most, focusing on providing useful content (i.e. blog posts) over sales-driven messaging.
Despite spikes in search activity, ad spend is not following suit. Many categories, such as restaurants, entertainment, and travel, remain in flux with evolving stay-at-home orders. On the other hand, some categories serve important roles in supporting consumer needs (i.e. grocery, delivery services), yet they still face challenges that necessitate caution with increased volume.
Consistent with trends seen among other digital media, travel and entertainment are expected to experience the sharpest declines. eMarketer predicts a YOY decrease in spend of between 8.7% to 14.8%, approximately $6 billion to $8 billion less than originally thought for the first half of 2020 [3].
Despite the steep drop YOY, search is expected to come out ahead compared to other digital media in the world of COVID-19 [3].
For most brands and organizations, search is an essential element to the media mix. In this new landscape where what is considered essential has changed, search continues to be a go-to tactic for the industries that are spending. At Inline, we continue to monitor consumer and ad trends, considering what is most impactful to our clients’ businesses. As companies continue evolving in the COVID-19 world, so will our strategies, to support client objectives and enhance the consumer experience.
Sources:
[1] COVID-19 Keeps Google From Monetizing Users, Despite Skyrocketing Demand
[2] Google Reveals How Search Behavior Has Changed During COVID-19 Pandemic
[3] Analyst Take: How the Coronavirus Will Change Our US Search Ad Spending Forecast