Future-proofing Search Engine Marketing: An Empirical Investigation of Effects of Search Engine Results on Consumer Purchase Decisions

A popular joke amongst marketers is that the best place to hide a dead body is page two of search results. Meaning, nobody looks beyond the first page of search results. In a cookie-free future, search engines double down on how marketers communicate expertise, authority, and trust. This pushes brands to shift away from product-focused search engine marketing, toward an intent-based approach. To stay at the top of search engine results, marketers must understand consumer assessment of search results. Guided by an integrated framework combining UTAUT2, theory of reasoned action, and media richness theory, this empirical study used a 2 (search result type: organic vs. sponsored) × 3 (presentation format: text-only vs. image vs. video) between-subjects research design for assessing the effects of search results on consumer decisions. Results help establish the connection between consumer perceptions of search results and purchase decisions. Implications for AI-driven search engine marketing are presented.