Attention: A Better Way to Measure SEO Marketing Impact

Posted: 18 Sep 2011

See all articles by Xing Lu

Xing Lu

Indiana University South Bend - School of Business and Economics

Douglas O. Cook

University of Alabama - Culverhouse College of Commerce & Business Administration

Date Written: March 20, 2011

Abstract

This research differentiates itself from previous SEO marketing studies by using the first direct attention measure: the user search frequency index from Google Insight for Search (GIS), a service that tracks on a daily basis the search frequency for every Google search engine user. We find that as an attention proxy, GIS index has significant power in capturing impact around the time of the offering. A one point increase in the pre-issue GIS index change corresponds to a future reduction in the offer price discount by about 3%. In addition, as the only direct measure in SEO research, the GIS index differentiates itself from previous indirect measures by capturing some attention effects that are not captured by previous studies. All effects corresponding to the GIS index change are statistically significant and economically important.

Keywords: Behavioral Finance, SEO

Suggested Citation

Lu, Xing and Cook, Douglas O., Attention: A Better Way to Measure SEO Marketing Impact (March 20, 2011). Midwest Finance Association 2012 Annual Meetings Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1928196 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1928196

Xing Lu (Contact Author)

Indiana University South Bend - School of Business and Economics ( email )

PO Box 7111
1700 Mishawaka Avenue
South Bend, IN 46634
United States
5745204246 (Phone)

Douglas O. Cook

University of Alabama - Culverhouse College of Commerce & Business Administration ( email )

Culverhouse College of Business
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0223
United States
205-348-8971 (Phone)
205-348-0590 (Fax)