Airlines, retailers and telcos lead in Google searches
Airline comparisons, retail stores and telcos are the most commonly googled New Zealand companies, with six of the top 10 names searched in August being retail shops.
Richard Flanagan, Google’s head of small business for Australia and New Zealand, said the results were positive for the economy, indicating a strong shopping trend from consumers.
“I think looking at this list we really see the intent to buy and make purchases, whether it’s online or in the retail locations, is really, really strong,” Flanagan said. “I think it shows that people are searching when they need to accomplish tasks and check things off their to-do list — whether that’s book a holiday, buy things for around the house or gifts.”
Air New Zealand topped the list. Rival airline Jetstar came in at number six, which Flanagan said was likely because of price comparisons between the two. Similarly, rival telcos Vodafone and Spark came in at 7th and 10th respectively.
Flanagan said consumers were increasingly using their mobile phones to search in spare moments. He said the research highlighted the importance for businesses to have good online presence and to have sites that worked well on mobile.
“I think what’s interesting is that only 41 per cent [of New Zealanders] said it was easy to read the websites of businesses that they had looked for on their mobile, so what stands out is that there’s a huge opportunity for businesses of all shapes and sizes to do better,” Flanagan said. “This is what users are demanding and mobile really is essential for all companies, and if you’re not thinking with a mobile first mentality then you’re really going to be missing out.”
Flanagan said that in at least 10 countries worldwide there were more searches on Google on mobile than desktop, with “how to” videos an increasingly large part of online busi- ness traffic. “. . . businesses of all shapes and sizes can take advantage of this,” he said. “For example, Ikea — their videos online of how to assemble their products get hundreds of thousands of views so now you can go there, buy the product and go home and watch the video if you get stuck.”
The top “how to” searches in New Zealand were how to take a screenshot, make pancakes, write a cover letter and tie a tie.