• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, October 18, 2012

If consumers only spend 5% of their time searching, how can search marketers reach them during the remaining 95% of the time they're online? Only 13% of people perform shopping related searches daily, so executives from a few companies like Google, IgnitionOne and Criteo still believe search marketers can find an option in display -- especially since more marketers have begun to accept real-time bidding and programmatic buying as a viable option to improve strategies.

Recent data suggests continued success through the convergence of performance display with search campaigns. Criteo, with help from The Nielsen Company, conducted research exploring the impact of performance display ads on consumers' search habits. Intent, for example, continues to trumpet a stronger buzz when it comes to engagement with ads.

It's all about the data. According to Nielsen studies, when performance display was combined with search, organic searches related to search engine optimization (SEO) rose 28%. Brand awareness also improved by between 25% and 50%. Research also found that those exposed to performance display ads click on paid-search results 5% less often than do non-exposed visitors. They also make 50% more branded queries and have a 25% higher brand awareness.

Without this integration, marketers can expect between 10% and 15% search market growth in the U.S., according to Patrick Wyatt, head of business intelligence at Criteo. Display could add an infusion to the slower growth attributable to an aging market, he said. Wyatt, along with Thomas Volpi, global head of marketing, agrees. The two -- along with Tom Burg, heard of marketing and communication in the U.S. -- researched and wrote the paper.

The paper points out that quality, accurate and recent data impact performance, and can make behavior data at the bottom of the funnel highly intent-based. Both paid search and display can leverage specific queries and keywords from the search channel, data providers and on-site search engines.

The study identified: Those who click on ads buy three times more frequently than those who don't, 43% of regular buyers click on Criteo Ads Alone, and 50% of browsers are responsible for 80% of clicks and sales.