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The Google/TechTargetBehavioural Research Project: Phase 2Search Behaviour of IT Buyers OnlineDuring the Purchase Process

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The Google/TechTarget Behavioural Research Project: Phase 2

Table of Contents

Executive Summary and Key Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Study Objectives, Methodology and Demographics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Research Analysis Roll Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Keyword Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Search Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Keywords Used by Buying Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Keywords Used by Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Keywords and Content Type Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Click Preference by Buying Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Interaction with Search Results Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Click Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Pages Viewed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Content Listings Clicked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Registration/Demand Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

About TechTarget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

About Google . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15




Table of Contents

Executive Summary and Key Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Study Objectives, Methodology and Demographics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Research Analysis Roll Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Keyword Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Search Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Keywords Used by Buying Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Keywords Used by Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Keywords and Content Type Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Click Preference by Buying Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Interaction with Search Results Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Click Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Pages Viewed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Content Listings Clicked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Registration/Demand Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

About TechTarget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

About Google . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15




Google Behavioural Research Study Summary

This study is a continuation of the 2008 Google/TechTarget Research Project. In the2008 study, our main intent was to map our IT Research Panel’s search habits as theyrelated to specific keyword phrases across buying stages. In that study we relied ona question and answer format. The study revealed that indeed IT buyers associatespecific keyword queries with where they are in their buying cycle.

In this study, we partnered with global research provider OTX to track IT buyerbehaviour. Our goal here was to see if, when presented with actual SERP (searchengine rendered pages), the IT buyers specific search behaviour, as indicated bywhat they actually did on these pages, would deviate from the first study. In effect,we tracked the differences between what buyers said they would do versus what theyactually did when presented with simulated search environments. Based on thesebehavioural study responses it becomes obvious that the actual behaviour closelyresembles findings from the first study. However there were some notable differencesespecially between the three roles, CIOs, directors and administrators.

• CIOs in this study used keyword queries around “solution” more in later stage ascompared to other titles and had the tendency to dig deeper within search results(more pages) than their team counterparts.

• And interestingly enough, when it comes to willingness to register, CIOs and directorsare more receptive to providing telephone numbers than their counterparts.

• Media types clearly influence search choices, second to title and topics.

• Click maps reveal significantly more users skim the entire search page for results ascompared to last study.

• Analysis of what type of content listings appeal to users based on stage reinforces thatawareness content is most appealing in early stage and same with consideration contentfor mid stage, but deviation occurs in decision stage where consideration and decisiontype content are equally searched.

Page 1 of 15

The Google/TechTarget Behavioural Research Project: Phase 2 Page 2 of 15

Behavioural Study Objectives• Refresh the 2008 search study and look for year-to-year trends among IT buyers

• Re-examine relationship of search usage by buying stage

• Identify distinctions between self-reported and behavioural methodology

• Look for noteworthy differences by title and region

• Provide fresh insights to marketers for search, lead generation and branding

Methodology• Online survey fielded September 2009

• Online behavioural research done by independent marketing research firm OTX

• Search scenarios within the buying cycle

• Search terms captured

• Search engine result page behaviours captured

• Additional self-reported responses

• Opportunity for contrast with 2008 study

Demographics• 350 UK respondents

• Opt-in IT Research Panel

• Mix of job titles

• CIO (11%)

• IT Directors (31%)

• IT Administrators (58%)

• Wide range of company sizes and budgets

The Google/TechTarget Behavioural Research Project: Phase 2Page 3 of 15

Keyword Analysis

Users were given specific scenarios pertaining toresearching an IT security issue. Each scenario wasmapped to a stage of the IT purchase process. Allkeyword phrases were then recorded and analyzed.


Cisco

Microsoft

EMC

CA

IBM“Vendor X”

“Solution A”

HP

troubleshoot

upgrade

risks

resolve

issueprevent

optimize

improve

solution

tool

supplier

service

providerappliance

software

device

compare

review

comparison

vs.

versusbenchmarks

pros and cons

test

Issue/Opportunity

ComparisonSolution

Brand

The search queries were then clustered into four groups: Brand, Issue/Opportunity,Solution, and Comparison


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Early Mid Late

Awareness phase Consideration phase Decision phase

Issue/Opportunity

Brand

Comparison/Review

Solution

Issue/Opportunity phrases were used more in the awareness phase, and were used less frequently

towards the later stages. Brand and Comparison/Review phrases were used more towards the

decision phase of the IT buying process. Solution phrases were used more during the

consideration phase.

UK Keywords Used by Buying Stage


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Issue/

Opportu

nity

Brand

Compar

ison

Solutio

n

Issue/

Opportu

nity

Brand

Compar

ison

Solutio

n

Issue/

Opportu

nity

Brand

Compar

ison

Solutio

n

Awareness phase Consideration phase Decision phase

CIOs

Directors

Administrators

UK Keywords Used by Title

To get further understanding, we took a deeper look at keyword usage based

on title and stage.

• During the consideration stage, directors use more comparison phrasesthan CIOs or administrators

• However, during the decision stage, directors and administrators aremore likely to use brand phrases than are CIOs. Whereas CIOs are morelikely to use solution phrases.


Awareness phase

Keywords

Content Types

Consideration phase Decision phase

Issue/Opportunity

Brand

Solution

Comparison

Online communitiesSearch engineseBooksEmail newslettersEditorial articlesWhite papersPodcastsCase studiesOnline videosWebcastsVirtual trade showsProduct literatureTrial softwareOnline vendor demos

Keywords and Content Type Mapping to the IT Purchase Process

Searching for specific brands across all stages seems to be generally more prevalent in this study.


70%

65%

61%

54%

49%

46%

25%

30%

33%

18%

29%

38%

8%

29%

37%

Title/Topic

Content type

Familiar with source/URL

Proven industry expert

Vendor preference

Awareness Consideration Decision

Click Preferences by Buying Stage

Title and topic are the most critical to click-throughs in all phases of the buying cycle. Content

type is a clear 2nd in importance, which is a major change from 2008 study, where there was

no content type preferences. A vendor preference is most notable during the decision stage,

but very limited during awareness.

Question: Based on the given search results, why did you select the result you did?


Interaction with Search Results Pages

2008 Results• >80% of users skim the resultspage before clicking

• 38% click on search advertising

2009 Results• Click maps validate that >80% ofusers skim entire search results page• 33% click on search advertising

Click Map: Searches on Endpoint Security Issues

According to click-map observations, top organic rankings do not equate with the top click

rates. Titles and content summaries clearly influence which listings are clicked. Click distribution

is even more pronounced for consideration and decision stage searches.


>30%

21–30%

11–20%

1–10%


Search Results Pages Viewed Before Clicking

Behaviour indicates the vast majority of users click on Page 1 of search results. Clearly users

are finding valuable content on Page 1 and only exploring more search results pages as needed.

81%

83%

86%

19%

11%

10%

0%

4%

2%

1 Page

2 Pages

3 Pages

Awareness Phase

92%

86%

90%

3%

3%

6%

3%

7%

3%

1 Page

2 Pages

3 Pages

Consideration Phase

86%

88%

90%

5%

2%

5%

3%

5%

3%

1 Page

2 Pages

3 Pages

Decision Phase

CIOs

Directors

Administrators


73%

77%

77%

73%

59%

54%

35%

48%

37%

Awareness

Consideration

Decision

Awareness Phase

26%

18%

28%

79%

89%

88%

53%

49%

47%

Awareness

Consideration

Decision

Consideration Phase

45%

27%

39%

60%

63%

61%

75%

73%

70%

Awareness

Consideration

Decision

Decision Phase

CIOs

Directors

Administrators

Types of Content Listings Clicked

These 3 graphs validate that, as logic would have it, all titles are predominantly looking for

content that parallels the stage they are in (awareness and consideration) but in decision phase

there is more ambiguity as results reflect both consideration and decision stage listings.


Registration/Demand Generation

CIOs and directors are more willing to provide email addresses and phone numbers, with

directors being the most willing to provide accurate information overall. UK CIOs and directors

are significantly more willing to provide phone numbers in comparison to their US counterparts.

Email address

First name

Last name

Company name

Job title

Company size

Purchase influence (budget, area of influence)

Telephone number

Readiness to buy or time horizon to purchase

2008

81%

79%

73%

66%

62%

39%

32%

27%

23%

2009

67%

61%

60%

58%

62%

50%

40%

21%

27%

Question: When accessing certain information from IT-related websites, you may berequired to complete a registration form. Which of the following informationare you willing to provide accurately?

Withholding Information on Registration Forms

IT Professionals withhold information to prevent unwanted phone calls and emails, and

because they would prefer to initiate the contact when they are ready. Almost 50% of users

withhold accurate information because they are doing early stage research and aren’t ready to

be contacted. 81% are concerned about unwanted phone calls.


82%

82%

80%

62%

56%

72%

59%

72%

66%

59%

44%

42%

47%

47%

45%

44%

49%

48%

I believe I will get unwanted phone calls

I believe I will get unwanted e-mail

I feel more comfortable contacting the vendor or solutions

provider if and when I’m interested in more information

There are usually other sources of information I can get

that don’t require registration to access

Forms are generally too long and not worth the time it takes to fill them out

I often don’t have an exact budget or purchase time horizon when I’m

beginning my research,so I’d be “making up” information anyway

Question: Why do you withhold the information you mentioned when completingan online registration form?

CIOs

Directors

Administrators


TechTarget, a leading online technology media company, gives technology providers ROI-focusedmarketing programs to generate leads, shorten sales cycles, and grow revenues. With its networkof more than 80 technology-specific websites and more than 8.5 million registered members,TechTarget is a primary Web destination for technology professionals researching products topurchase. The company is also a leading provider of independent, peer and vendor content, a leadingdistributor of white papers, and a leading producer of webcasts, podcasts, videos and virtual tradeshows for the technology market. Its websites are complemented by numerous invitation-onlyevents. TechTarget provides proven lead generation and branding programs to top advertisersincluding Cisco, Dell, EMC, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, SAP and Symantec.

About TechTarget

About Google Inc.

Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with informationevery day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google todayis a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program providesbusinesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience forusers. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe andAsia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

For more questions or information about this study contact:

Marilou BarsamTechTarget275 Grove StreetNewtown, MA [email protected]

617-431-9368

© 2010 TechTarget, Inc. All rights reserved. TechTarget and the TechTarget logo are registered trademarks of TechTarget. All other trademarks are the property

of their respective owners

www.TechTarget.com

mailto:[email protected]

www.google.com

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