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Google Delivers Disproportionate Number of iPhone-Related Search Clicks
RESTON, VA, June 26, 2008 – Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a study on “iPhone”-related search terms based on data from the Comscore Marketer service, which showed that 1.3 million people conducted 6.9 million searches for iPhone-related terms in April 2008.
“Speculation had been rampant in recent months that Apple CEO Steve Jobs was getting ready to introduce a 3G iPhone at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9, and indeed he did just that,” said Dan Lackner, Comscore Senior VP. “Search is frequently a harbinger of purchase intent. The increase in volume of iPhone searches demonstrates just how heavy that interest has been for the next generation of Apple’s popular phone – even when its existence was still just a rumor.”
Consumers have searched on a variety of iPhone-related topics, but the most common search term, “iPhone,” generated nearly 1.5 million searches. Also ranking high on the list were several terms relating to the anticipated next generation iPhone, including “iPhone update” (151,000), “iPhone 2.0” (75,000) and “iPhone 3G” (60,000).
Top “iPhone”-Related Search TermsApril 2008Total U.S. – Home/Work/University LocationsSource: Comscore Marketer
Search Term
Searches (000)
IPHONE
1,488
IPHONE UPDATE
151
IPHONE WEB APPS
118
IPHONE MMS
101
IPHONE 2.0
75
IPHONE 3G
60
IPHONE 2
59
IPHONE G3
43
IPHONES
38
IPHONE SPEAKERS
35
“iPhone” Search Clicks Driven by Google
Of the iPhone-related searches that generated click-thrus, the vast majority (88.4 percent) occurred on Google search, 33 percent higher than one would expect given Google’s share of total Internet search click-thrus. All other search engines generated a lower percentage of iPhone-related clicks than their respective shares of total search clicks.
Share of Search Clicks for “iPhone”-Related Search TermsApril 2008Total U.S. – Home/Work/University LocationsSource: Comscore Marketer
Search Engine
Percent of Search Clicks for Term
Percent of Total Search Clicks
Index
Google
88.4%
66.5%
133
Yahoo
7.2%
20.0%
36
MSN-Windows Live
2.7%
6.9%
39
AOL
1.2%
3.8%
32
Ask.com
0.6%
2.9%
19
*Index = Percent of Search Clicks for Term/Percent of Total Search Clicks x 100; Index of 100 represents parity
“This is a prime example of the importance of using consumer behavioral data when designing and evaluating search marketing campaigns,” added Mr. Lackner. “We’ve seen many times that different search engines perform better for particular brands and products, and in this case, Google appears to be the preferred choice for iPhone searchers.”
Paid vs. Organic iPhone Click-Thrus
Not surprisingly, the top destination for iPhone-related searches was Apple Inc., which attracted 17.5 percent of all search click-thrus. Of those click-thrus to Apple Inc., 16.5 percent were the result of paid search and the remaining 83.5 percent were from organic search results. Google Sites, which host significant iPhone-related content on YouTube and Blogger sites, ranked second with 8.8 percent of iPhone-related click-thrus, nearly all of which came from organic search results. NetShelter Technology Media, which owns several Apple and iPhone-specific content sites, ranked third with 8.4 percent.
Among the top ten destinations, AT&T, Inc. – the lone cell phone carrier for iPhones in the U.S. – had the highest proportion of their search clicks coming from paid links (42.8 percent). Several of the top ten sites had no paid search strategy, but still managed to generate a substantial share of total clicks through organic results.
Paid vs. Organic Click-Thrus for “iPhone”-Related Search Destination PropertiesApril 2008Total U.S. – Home/Work/University LocationsSource: Comscore Marketer
Destination Property
Percent of Total iPhone-Related Click-Thrus
Percent of Click-Thrus to Destination Property
Paid
Organic
Total Clicks
8.77 MM
0.61 MM
8.16 MM
Apple Inc.
17.5%
16.5%
83.5%
Google Sites
8.8%
0.7%
99.3%
NetShelter Technology Media
8.4%
0.0%
100.0%
AOL LLC
6.5%
Gawker Media
5.1%
CNET Networks
3.7%
AT&T, Inc.
3.3%
42.8%
57.2%
International Data Group
3.1%
Yahoo! Sites
1.3%
98.7%
ILOUNGE.COM
1.8%
To request more information on Comscore Marketer, please visit:
http://www.comscore.com/marketer/info_req.asp
About ComscoreComscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/boilerplate.
PressBill DaddiDaddi Brand Communications646-370-1341press@comscore.com