I don’t mean to perpetuate the inane debate of whether the Web is a branding or a direct response medium, but last week
WebSideStory reported that the
majority of Internet sites worldwide are reached through direct navigation – typing a URL in their browser address bar or using a bookmark – rather than through search engines and Web links.
Here’s the interesting part: WebSideStory attributes the rise in direct navigation online to online branding.
As of February 3, 2003, over 64% of Internet users arrived at sites by direct
navigation, compared to about 53% only a year ago, according to WebSideStory’s StatMarket division. “The days of Web users randomly ‘surfing’ to sites is ending. Now, more than ever, people know
exactly where they want to go on the Web,” said Geoff Johnston, vice president of product marketing for StatMarket.
Here’s a breakdown: Global Usage Share As of
2/03/03 2/03/02 2/03/01
Direct Navigation 64.43% 53.19% 48.14%
Web Links/Search 35.55% 46.79% 51.85%
But don’t expect any of this to
slow the steam train that is search engine marketing. “This does not mean search sites or other Web links are now less important,” Johnston says, “because users still have to initially find a site
before they can bookmark it.”
All of this seems to make perfect sense if you consider that 75% told DoubleClick in June 2002 that their main online advertising objective was to build brand
awareness, but to this skeptic something doesn’t seem complete. I’d like to know if anyone bothered finding out what role offline advertising plays in all this "finding a site before bookmarking it."
I’m not necessarily doubting WebSideStory’s methodology or their conclusions, but it seems they’re operating in a vacuum. Other than that, these stats could be very useful in your next client meeting.