How do you research products before making the purchase decision? Well if you’re a consumer who lives in Europe, you often start the process with search engines. According to a new Forrester Research report ‘How Europeans Search’, 21% of European consumers start the journey with search engines; second only to ‘in a shop’ (26%). What is interesting however, is ‘search engines’ handily beat out other channels for information, including ‘Talking with friends and family’ 13% and ‘A retailers Web site’ 12%.

The report also points out some interesting differences among the nationalities surveyed. British and German consumers prefer to start the research process with search engines (25%) versus ‘in the shop’ -18% and 22% respectively. Italians however remain fans of physical stores as the place where they begin their research process. More than 50% of online Italians start the research process in the store, versus just 14% who start with a search engine.

For those consumers that do use search engines for product research, most feel confident in the results they receive from natural search results.  In fact natural search results are the second most-trusted information source, more so than many other channels of information, including price comparison sites, consumer reviews and manufactures’ Web sites. The only source slightly more trusted source is ‘email from people you know.’

So what can we learn from this study as we begin the countdown to Black Friday, the start of the online shopping season?  Prioritize natural search.  As SEO and paid search can often be handled by different teams within the same company (Web Development and Marketing respectively), it’s important to ensure both groups are working together to maximize results. A cross-functional SEO evaluation with representatives from both disciplines before the start of the online shopping season is crucial. In addition, the relationship between search and social media content such as blogs and forums is another way to boost natural results.  Don’t overlook the importance of natural search as a way to help you build confidence during your customers’ research process.

To purchase the full report, visit Forrester Research.