A new study released by Google titled, “Brand Value of Search”, shows that besides being a great tool to find information, it’s also a great way for companies to increase brand awareness of consumer package goods.  “Typically, ROI models for search don’t give any value to a search impression, but this study finds that there’s brand value in a search impression, particularly in top-of-mind awareness and purchase intent,” said Kevin Kells, Google’s CPG Industry Director.

It shouldn’t be any surprise that Search Marketing is a great way to get the word out about your brand.  After all, the point of a search engine is to show the most relevant results based on keywords that the user is searching for.  If your brand’s ad shows up in the PPC ads or the organic results, then your brand is relevant to what the user is searching for.  The user is going to be much more likely to buy your product or service.

Another interesting finding was the decrease in brand awareness when a brand did not appear in one of four key product categories—beverage, cosmetic, food/snack, household cleaning/laundry—and its competitor did.  Again, this shouldn’t be surprising.  If your competitor is showing up but your brand is not, that is telling the user that your competitor’s brand is much more suitable for the user’s need or want than your brand.

For MediaPost’s perspective on Google’s study click here.