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UK Search Volume & Click Share Analysis
Laptops & PCs Search Impression Volume •
The home computing market is an area in which a large number of competitors have forced down product profit margins, particularly for the traditional retailers. Despite this, ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers such as PC World have retained a strong online presence, with a 26.01% organic click share.
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This dominance can be attributed to consumer demands for both convenient delivery (in this case, through the use of click and collect services) as well as expert advice, particularly in a dynamic market with ‘big ticket’ products. In this market, we see that review sites have struggled to gain any significant level of click-share amid fierce competition from retailers. For online retailers to combat this, a greater emphasis needs to be placed on consumer advice and there is opportunity for retailers to capitalise on the absence of review sites and provide expert, detailed consumer advice that supports the customer journey.
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The dominance that PC World has over the vertical is attributed to the fact that is has large brand visibility for 80% of unit keywords in this vertical. The unit keyword terms are dominated by computers and desktop pcs which hold 22.34% and 18.55% of unit search impression volume (see Appendix A6). The fact that personal computers are a high cost unit that has a long replacement cycle has resulted in high search volumes for terms such as refurbished laptops (15.69%).
Organic Click Share •
PC World dominates the organic click share, attracting more than a quarter (26.01%) of the market. This is followed by Amazon, which is in close competition with Dell (see Figure 21).
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Laptops Direct (9.92%) is present for over 60% of our unit keywords and is the leading brand for the keyword refurbished laptops. Dell also ranks highly for the keyword refurbished laptops. Dabs’ position in the index is largely due to strong rankings for the terms computers and pc monitors.
Paid Click Share •
Dell’s approach to paid search appears to be much more aggressive than its organic approach, with the brand taking 18.07% of the paid click share. This activity makes it the second biggest brand in this sector by aggregated click share, ahead of PC World and Amazon. Brands such as John Lewis, DinoPC and Misco are also present in paid search (see Figure 22).
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Brands such as Intel, a processor manufacturer, and more specialist retailers such as Misco and DinoPC have a presence. This suggests that paid activity within the sector is being targeted at much more targeted audiences, such as those looking for upgrades or for high-end systems.
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The appearance of Microsoft in the top ten for paid search has been attributed to the launch of Windows 8, which launched in October 2012.
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If we factor PC World click share with its online sister brand Currys this puts their combined aggregated click share at 31.25%, a massive 12.84% ahead of their nearest rival Dell (see Figure 23).
“PC World dominates the organic click share, attracting more than a quarter of the market. ”