Survey: Newspapers drive Web traffic more effectively than Google

Advertising or editorial links in newspapers and on television are more likely to drive consumers to a Web site than links on Google Adwords, according to findings of a survey of 1,000 UK consumers by Greenfield Online.

However, friendly customer e-mail from companies consumers already have a relationship with are most effective, with 52 percent more likely to visit the company’s Web site, Global edge reported Thursday.

Following these “warm” e-mails are newspapers and television, where consumers are 34 percent more likely to visit a company’s Web site.

Far behind is Google Adwords. According to the survey, consumers who see a text link like Google Adwords increases their likelihood of visiting a Web site by just eight percent, according to Global edge.

However, search traffic as a main vehicle to Web sites it is more common than visiting those sites directly, the article pointed out.

“What people say (in a survey) and what people do can be very different, but before we dismiss the findings, it is important to remember that most Web data currently only measures what happens on the last click. It doesn’t tell you anything about what influenced people’s behaviour to get to your Web site. This is currently the subject of much debate in the affiliate industry,” the Global edge article stated.