Neo Marketing Co., Ltd.
Among SGE users, 15.6% complete their search only with SGE search results, and even when SGE is displayed, 66.8% “sometimes click on a listing ad.”
“Survey on SGE” asked 660 men and women aged 20 and over nationwide ……
Neo Marketing Co., Ltd. (located in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo), which provides marketing support businesses centered on consumers, will conduct business nationwide for five days from March 6, 2024 (Wednesday) to March 11, 2024 (Monday). We conducted an Internet research on the theme of “SGE” targeting men and women over the age of 20.
-Investigation background-
“SGE (Search Generative Experience)” (hereinafter referred to as “SGE”) began trial operation in Japan in August 2023.
While this feature is expected to have various benefits for consumers, such as improving the search experience, there are also many concerns for companies, such as its impact on SEO and advertising.
In this article, we investigated the actual situation of SGE users and considered measures that companies should take. Please feel free to use this as a resource for your future marketing activities. [Survey overview]
Survey method: Conducted via web survey using a survey system operated by Neo Marketing Co., Ltd.
Survey target: Men and women aged 20 to 69 nationwide who use SGE at work (Screening survey: conducted among men and women aged 20 to 69) Number of valid responses: 660 people
Survey implementation date: March 6, 2024 (Wednesday) – March 11, 2024 (Monday) “Survey on SGE” Main questions and answers
When using SGE, 15.6% of people completed their search using SGE results without having to go to multiple sites.
On the other hand, only “less than 10%” and “20 to 30%” of respondents answered that they are satisfied with only SGE search results (frequently perform additional searches and access source sites). It remained at 11.8%.
It seems that those who continue to use SGE at work appreciate the fact that they don’t have to perform additional searches over and over again, and they don’t have to search for the information they want on the site.
Do you ever click on a listing ad when SGE is displayed? 66.8% said they sometimes click on an ad even if they use SGE.
By gender and age, there was a tendency for both men and women to become more active in clicking on ads as they got older.
Among men in their 20s, 31.4% said they “often” clicked on ads, and 82.8% if you include “sometimes” they clicked on ads.
First, we asked “employed people who answered that they were aware of and used SGE (“I often use it” or “I use it occasionally”) in the screening question. I asked you what it is used for.
◆Applications using SGE (n=1,439) *Screening survey
[Image 1: https://prtimes.jp/i/3149/451/resize/d3149-451-47612bf7a0a139c2c9ad-0.png&s3=3149-451-65c5917cd2552de85f336e6ca9de8784-836×737.png ]
It was found that 46.6% of the total, about half, use it for work. Comparing the results by occupation, “company managers, executives, and organization executives” had the highest rate of use at work, at 51.9%.
From here on, the main survey targets “those who answered that they use SGE at work.”
First, we asked whether they felt they were getting the information they wanted when using SGE.
◆Do you think you are getting the information you want when using SGE? (n=660)
[Image 2: https://prtimes.jp/i/3149/451/resize/d3149-451-65c8804bad7159c34fa7-1.png&s3=3149-451-580e4c1a33444881f11e2c38f49829bc-905×561.png ]
The most positive answer, “Strongly Agree”, was 31.7%.
Combining the 59.7% who answered “somewhat agree,” we found that the majority, 91.4%, acknowledged the usefulness of SGE.
More than half a year has passed since trial operation began in Japan in August 2023, and we can see that SGE is recognized as a “usable” function by many business users.
Next, when using SGE, we asked what percentage of searches were completed using only SGE search results.
◆When using SGE, the percentage of users who complete their search using only SGE search results (n=660)
[Image 3: https://prtimes.jp/i/3149/451/resize/d3149-451-09b5284f55dadedc70c2-2.png&s3=3149-451-080470baa179217b5f38e5bcc0af35ee-804×560.png ]
We found that 15.6% of respondents achieved their goal using SGE-generated search results without having to go back and forth between multiple sites.
11.8 of the “less than 10%” and “20 to 30%” of people who frequently perform actions such as performing additional searches or accessing source sites to obtain more detailed information while using SGE The result is %.
Even taking into account the results of the question posted above [Do you think you are getting the information you want when using SGE?] People who are currently using SGE continuously at work rate it highly in terms of “no need to perform additional searches over and over again” and “no need to go through the site to find the information you want.” You can see that they are doing so.
When SGE was displayed, we asked respondents to freely write up to 10 search terms in the order they could think of, in the order in which they thought they would be able to complete the search using just SGE. (*If you can’t think of anything, answer “I can’t think of anything.”) Below are some excerpts from the responses.
◆When SGE is displayed, the genre of the search word that you think can be completed only with SGE (free description)
[Some answers are excerpted below]
“When looking up the meaning of proverbs” (Female, 25 years old) “When looking up the meaning of an idiom” (Female, 25 years old) “It’s something that gives a clear answer whether it’s a circle or a cross.” (Male, 62 years old)
“Phrases related to general social issues” (male, 64 years old) “Etiquette in everyday life” (female, 25 years old)
“Current status and challenges of EVs” (male, 63 years old)
Overall, we’ve gathered a collection of categories that you can probably get enough answers from with a regular Google search, such as the meanings of words, general theories, and common sense.
Considering that SGE aims not only to “immediately derive the information that users want with a single search,” but also to “provide information that understands the intention and context behind it,” the current usage situation is It seems that there are still many issues to be solved.
Additionally, one of the most frequently raised concerns regarding SGE is its impact on advertising.
Currently being tested (March 2024), the display may differ slightly depending on the device.
When using SGE, “Snapshots” (blocks of answers generated by SGE) are displayed on the home page, and we often see organic searches that used to be at the top being pushed to the bottom. It was done. Users started accessing the site through “Snapshot” and there were concerns that the number of people accessing the site due to the ads currently running would decrease.
We asked SGE users about the actual situation regarding such “advertisements”. Below, we ask, “Do you ever click on a listing ad when SGE is displayed?”
◆Do you ever click on a listing ad when SGE is displayed? (n=660)
[Image 4: https://prtimes.jp/i/3149/451/resize/d3149-451-46d737abddbdf0b306db-3.png&s3=3149-451-3cd114c31c5869ad03d2aaeeebd49b9b-836×502.png ]
66.8% of the respondents answered that they sometimes click on ads even when using SGE (total of “often” and “sometimes”). Even if it happens only occasionally, it accounts for about half of the cases.
[Image 5: https://prtimes.jp/i/3149/451/resize/d3149-451-837f72f1832af1f67e5a-4.png&s3=3149-451-15c902e9552834effeb1a641aec20014-683×739.png ]
Comparing the results by gender and age group, although there was some fluctuation between both men and women, there was a tendency for the younger the age group to be, the more aggressive they were in clicking on ads.
Among them, men in their 20s showed the most aggressiveness. 31.4% of respondents answered that they “often” clicked on ads, and 82.8% if “sometimes” were included.
As a result, we found that even when using SGE, a certain number of people still clicked on ads.
Google has announced that it plans to gradually test search and shopping ads in Snapshot and conversation mode.
Smooth search (SGE), which develops in a conversational format, aims to help users quickly and pinpoint what they are looking for, so we hope that ads will be displayed here in a natural way in the future. If so, it is likely that very high quality clicks will occur. Next, we asked if there was any information that you thought was missing from the SGE display.
◆ Information that you think is missing from the SGE display (n=660)
[Image 6: https://prtimes.jp/i/3149/451/resize/d3149-451-e3ed07cdc1d58a51fc4f-5.png&s3=3149-451-275f666c61fb426e8c72ae1503e2fce3-766×560.png ]
It was found that 54.1% complained of a lack of “detailed source information” and 42.9% complained of a lack of “comparison information (such as between products and services).”
Regarding the former, improvements have already been made in the sense of “displaying the source”.
Originally, as of August 2023 when the trial operation started in Japan, the source was not displayed in the text on “Snapshot”, but now you can click the arrow next to the answer text to see the source. Now you can access the new site.
However, as 42.9% also complained of a lack of “comparative
information (between products and services, etc.)”, many people are concerned about the “few sources they refer to” and This is probably the “source reference standard (display logic)” part.
While this feeling of insufficiency exists, users are at the stage of “considering a new service” or “wanting to purchase something” (near the CV stage), in other words, users who need a certain level of comparison. is unlikely to be satisfied with SGE alone.
In response to the question posted above, “Do you think you are getting the information you want when using SGE?”, we found that the majority, 91.4%, acknowledged the usefulness of SGE.
However, as was clarified earlier in [When SGE is displayed, the genre of the search word that you think can be completed only with SGE (free description)],
At present, SGE is “in cases where it is sufficient to understand general theory and related topics” and “instantly collects facts and common sense (news, meanings of words, etc.) that are expected to contain similar content on any site.” It seems to be useful when you want to understand the information.
In preparation for the spread of SGE, if we need to strengthen anything from an SEO perspective at this point, we would like to improve the specialization of content (a unique perspective that goes beyond general theory), select keywords to focus on (SGE The key point seems to be “balance with the part you are responsible for”. Finally, we asked about the criteria for differentiating between SGE display and conventional web search.
◆Criteria for differentiating between SGE display and conventional web search (n=660)
[Image 7: https://prtimes.jp/i/3149/451/resize/d3149-451-2f939eb2fe53eb916cf6-6.png&s3=3149-451-439a7912035cd1f0d29cdf021038c670-851×622.png ]
“Detailedness of information (Is it a summary or detailed
information?)” ranked first at 49.2%, followed by “Freshness of information (Is it the latest information?)” with a difference of only 1.3 points.
For this reason, in particular, sites that end with an “overview” without any unique opinions or expertise will be of particular concern to SGE.
We also foresee a future where things will change.
Of course, in order to maintain the quality of SGE, an overview site is necessary as a learning source, but
As mentioned in [Information that I think is missing in SGE display], it will be important for companies to not only provide general information, but also to shift to more in-depth content. .
■Other questions for this survey
・Do you know SGE? (Screening question)
・How much do you use SGE? (Screening question)
Such
■Click here for the survey services used in this survey
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