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When combined, search and display advertising deliver profoundly better results than when used independently, according to new research conducted by comScore Networks. The study, "Close the Loop: Understanding Search and Display Synergy," shows a significant lift in on-site engagement and an increase in online and offline purchasing by consumers exposed to integrated campaigns.

ComScore gauged advertising campaigns of Fortune 100 companies in several vertical categories. Internet users who were exposed to both the search and display advertising campaigns increased their share of page views relative to competitive sites by 68 percent. On average, they increased their time spent online by 66 percent.

Among those exposed to both, purchases of advertisers' products and services increased by a whopping 244 percent online and a significant 89 percent offline, compared with Internet users with similar behavior who were not exposed to these ads, the study finds. It was sponsored by Yahoo Inc.

Furthermore, the study indicates that exposure to a display advertisement increased related trademark term searches, such as those by brand, company or product names, by an average of 26 percent during the campaign. This shows that the interest generated from display advertising carries over to consumer search behavior, making it crucial that marketers use both to take full advantage of their online brand presence, the study concludes.

Within its panel of more than one million U.S. consumers, ComScore identified individuals who were exposed to search and display ads for a given advertiser across the entire internet and compared their online behaviors to those of internet users in control groups. With the exception of the exposure to the advertising, all of the Internet users were behaviorally and demographically identical.

By examining the lifts in behavior between the control and exposed groups, ComScore isolated and analyzed the effectiveness of advertising in driving specific activities, including website visitation, website engagement, and online and offline purchase behavior. The conclusions were unmistakable: mixing search and display is a recipe for online advertising success.

Article ID: 55