Small business take note: these are the brands that Aussies were Googling in 2012. What can you learn from the businesses that appear in this list?
Last week, Google announced its annual brand zeitgeist, revealing the top searched for brands by Australians this year. The list is a hot topic for advertisers as it reveals much about what Australian consumers are demanding and desiring.
The question is, what can small business learn from this?
Top searches for Australian brands in 2012:
1. Gumtree
2. Commonwealth Bank
3. ANZ
4. Telstra
5. Seek
6. Westpac
7. AFL
8. Virgin
9. NAB
10. ABC
Ross McDonald, industry leader local and retail, Google Australia, said in a statement, “Actions in the real world make a difference in the products and services that people search for. All brands should make sure their online presence can meet demand generated by trends and changes offline.”
This was demonstrated by Gumtree taking the top spot. In a time when Australians are tightening their belts, the ability to sell and buy second-hand items cheaply was obviously greatly prized by Aussies in 2012.
The top searched for shopping brands were also revealing, with ASOS, an online only retail brand, making it into the top ten- the first time for an online only shopping site. This is an indicative of the growing trend to shop online, said McDonald, as he warned Australian brands to get on the online bandwagon. “With online and international retailers posting strong gains throughout this year, it’s more important than ever for Aussie retailers to embrace the opportunities the web offers to stay competitive. We know that Australian shoppers trust their local brands and tend to look for them first–but overseas retailers are catching up. An online and mobile strategy to make themselves readily available should be the number one priority for every retailer in Australia.”
Another Google spokseperson offered the following analysis for small business owners. “One can assume at least two trends if you compare this year’s results with last year. Apparently more people are interested in working from home (Top Searches for “work from home” made it from 6th to 5th place and “income at home” made it from 2nd to 1st(!) place in fastest rising searches). Also, it’s quite interesting that “franchise” climbed up from 4th to 2nd place among the top searches.
Something worth thinking about of course are ‘new’ fastest rising search terms like “cessation” and “small business loans” which might indicate that some small business owners are struggling.”
