Changing Reader Patterns: The Power of Links
Blog readers do not appear to rely as heavily on search as a means to find new blogs as compared to consumers of traditional online media. According to the survey, one in five general blog readers (defined as consumers who have read a blog in the past 12 months) use blog links to discover new blogs. Further, the study suggests blogs are not consumed in isolation, but experienced as part of a connected conversation – nearly half (49 percent) of blog readers and 71 percent of frequent readers read more than one blog per session. Key findings include:
* Links more powerful than search: For frequent readers, links beat search as a navigation tool: 38 percent said blog links were the top tool for discovering new blog content as compared to 34 percent who voted for Web search.
* Links signal trust: For frequent readers, blog links appear to have similar impact as a trusted recommendation from a person (a response from 39 percent of survey participants).
* Blog search not yet mainstream: Blog search engines received the lowest ranking from respondents: 6 percent of general readers and 11 percent of frequent readers say they use these tools to discover new blogs.
Buying Behavior: The Nature of Blog Influence
* Blogs influence purchases: One half (50 percent) of blog readers say they find blogs useful for purchase information.
* Blogs sway more purchases among readers than social networks: More frequent blog readers say they trust relevant blog content for purchase decisions than content from social networking sites.
* Niche focus ups influence factor: For those who have found blog content useful for product decisions, more than half (56 percent) said blogs with a niche focus and topical expertise were key sources.
* Blogs go beyond tech: Outside of technology-related purchases, for which 31 percent of readers say blogs are useful, other key categories include media and entertainment (15 percent); games/toys and/or sporting goods (14 percent); travel (12 percent); automotive (11 percent); and health (10 percent).
It's Buy Time: Where Blogs Sit in the Purchase Cycle
According to the study, blogs factor in to critical stages of the purchase process, weighing most heavily at the actual moment of a purchase decision. When it comes to respondents who said they have trusted blog content for purchase decisions in the past, over half (52 percent) say blogs played a role in the critical moment they decided to move forward with a purchase.
Blog readers also replied around blogs' influence as it relates to the following steps of the purchase process:
* Decide on a product or service: 21 percent
* Refine choices: 19 percent
* Get support and answers: 19 percent
* Discover products and services: 17 percent
* Assure: 14 percent
* Inspire a purchase: 13 percent
* Execute a purchase: 7 percent
Blog Ads: Taking the Pulse of Reader Trust
For frequent blog readers, ads on blogs are on par with sponsored search results, one of the most prevalent and successful forms of advertising on the Web, and trust of blog advertising exceeds that around social networking site advertising. Twenty-five percent of these readers say they trust ads on a blog they read; paid search links also accounted for 25 percent of the responses. Nineteen percent say they trust ads on social networking sites.
The study also suggests ads on blogs spur a number of activities:
* 40 percent of blog readers have taken action as a result of viewing an ad on a blog; 50 percent of frequent blog readers say this is the case.
* Top activities include:
o Read product reviews online (17 percent)
o Sought out more info on a product or service (16 percent)
o Visited a manufacturer or retailer website (16 percent)
"For a portion of Web users, blogs rival search as a navigation tool, which has really interesting implications for advertisers," said Rob Crumpler, CEO, BuzzLogic. "Blogs are becoming trusted guides, steering users who are seeking very specific information to places of interest online. Being able to identify where this is taking place across the blogosphere gives us a window into user intent and a means to better target advertising to a qualified audience. This is great news for advertisers looking to maximize value in today's environment."
