The impacts of search engine optimization on customer's search attention and perception - An experimental research
Abstract
Search engine optimization (SEO), an important part of the search engine marketing (SEM), has received lot of attention in many industries. However, it has rarely been examined from the customer’s viewpoint. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of the SEO on customer’s search attention and the change in their perception when they knew more about SEO. The research applies the quantitative analysis with experimental tests, the sample size is 200 participants divided into 2 groups. The result revealed an undeniable role of SEO toward people’s attention on search engine result page (SERP) when they know nothing about it, but this became overwhelmed by other factors such as brand awareness or historical access… when people have knowledge about SEO. In addition, searcher’s attention differed from keywords of an industry to another, specifically in this study, electronics retailing versus tourism industry.