A new analysis based on comScore Media Metrix qSearch data revealed that nearly 700,000 Americans searched online for fuel efficiency-related terms in March 2005. These consumers conducted more than 1.5 million searches for terms such as "gas prices," "hybrid cars," "Toyota Prius," and "gas mileage." This online search activity has increased with growth in overall gas prices, with the number of consumers searching for fuel efficiency terms growing by 112 percent between February and March.

Consumer interest in fuel economy is also evident in online searches related to hybrid vehicles. Hybrids still represent a small segment of the auto industry, with only 88,000 vehicles sold in all of 2004, according to J.D. Power and Associates. Yet according to comScore qSearch, more than 300,000 Americans submitted hybrid-related search terms in March 2005 alone.

Interestingly, growing gas prices have not completely squelched Americans' interest in SUVs. comScore's analysis found that more than one million consumers conducted approximately 2.5 million SUV-related searches in March.

"We've consistently found that online search activity describes the dynamics of consumer demand, especially for high consideration products such as automobiles," said James Lamberti, vice president of comScore Networks. "For marketers across all industries, search can provide not only a marketing tool, but also a critical consumer profiling and segmentation resource."

    Search Activity:  Fuel Efficiency vs. SUVs
    February 2005 vs. March 2005
    Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users
    Source: comScore Media Metrix qSearch

                                   Feb-05 (000)   Mar-05 (000)    % Change
    Searchers
    Fuel Efficiency                     322             683          112%
    SUVs                              1,029           1,075            4%

    Searches
    Fuel Efficiency                     598           1,528          156%
    SUVs                              2,491           2,462           -1%

   Hybrid Searchers Tend to be Older, Higher Income Consumers

Not surprisingly, comScore found significant demographic differences between consumers who search for hybrid vehicles and those who search for SUVs:

    -- Age:  Hybrid searchers were 18 percent more likely to be 45 to 54
       years old than the average Internet user, while SUV searchers were 19
       percent more likely to be 25 to 34 years old.
    -- Income:  Just over 50 percent of hybrid searchers had household
       incomes of $75,000 or more, compared to just under 40 percent of SUV
       searchers.
    -- Region:  While SUV searchers are relatively evenly distributed across
       the country, hybrid searchers are 35 percent more likely than average
       to live in the Pacific region.
    -- Children:  Not surprisingly, SUV searchers are 10 percent more likely
       than average to have children in their household, while hybrid
       searchers are slightly less likely than the average consumer to have
       children.

comScore found that the majority of fuel efficiency searchers conducted searches for non-branded terms, such as "gas prices", "hybrid cars" and "electric cars." While newer offerings from Ford, Lexus and Dodge have not yet gained significant awareness among online searchers, the well known Toyota Prius was the top ranked branded search term in the fuel efficiency category. On the opposite end of the fuel economy spectrum, Hummer landed three of the top ten SUV search terms in March.

    Search Term Ranking: Fuel Efficiency & SUV Searches
    March 2005
    Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users
    Source: comScore Media Metrix qSearch

    Top Fuel Efficiency Terms             Top SUV Terms
    GAS PRICES                            HUMMER
    HYBRID CARS                           RANGE ROVER
    TOYOTA PRIUS                          SUV
    HYBRID VEHICLES                       FORD EXPLORER
    HONDA HYBRID                          CADILLAC ESCALADE
    GAS MILEAGE                           HONDA PILOT
    HYBRID SUV                            HUMMER H2
    PRIUS                                 HUMMER H3
    HONDA ACCORD HYBRID                   CHEVROLET TAHOE
    ELECTRIC CARS                         ESCALADE

   comScore Media Metrix Launches Search Marketer Planning Reports

The analysis above was conducted using Search Marketer Planning Reports, a new report suite based on comScore Media Metrix's industry-leading qSearch system. Unlike other keyword campaign tools, qSearch now reports on the demographics and online behavior of the consumers behind search activity. qSearch is based on the online search behavior of comScore's panel of more than 2 million U.S. consumers.

    Users of comScore Search Marketer Planning Reports can:
    -- Determine which search engines have the highest reach among consumers
       searching for specific terms
    -- Understand the demographic profiles of consumers searching for
       specific terms
    -- Develop highly integrated campaigns by understanding the Web-wide
       behavior of consumers searching for relevant terms
    -- Evaluate the total volume of searches and searchers for virtually any
       set of keywords

"More and more clients view search marketing as a vital piece of the overall marketing mix, and qSearch helps close the loop in cross-media planning and buying," said Mike Zeman, Associate Director of Insights & Analytics for Starcom IP. "By linking search activity to both demographics and site visitation habits, we now have a better handle on both who these hand-raisers are and what passions they exhibit. Clearly, this allows us to more narrowly pinpoint the advertising opportunities in other media, including TV and print, that are most appropriate for our clients' audiences."

For more information, please visit http://www.comscore.com.

Source: http://www.comscore.com