• Roughly 90% of all Internet new-vehicle shoppers use a search engine during the car shopping process. (J.D. Power and Associates 2006 New Autoshopper.com)

• 93% of Americans have used search engines to search for car-related information—jumping to 98% for the younger demographic of 18-34 year olds. (Kelton Research study 2007)

• Online search now trumps all traditional media as the #1 most-used resource that consumers use to locate dealers. (Yahoo!/Cobalt Study 2007)

* 49% of automotive Internet users found the dealer websites they ultimately purchased from via a search engine. (JD Power 2007 New Autoshopper.com Study)

• 78% of consumers rely on search engines when they are performing automotive research. (CapGemini Study 2007)

• ‘Search is used throughout the entire vehicle purchase process.’ In the last month prior to purchase, 42% of ALL new vehicle buyers are actively using search engines. (Google/Compete Study 2007)

• Search is one of the top 3 media used by vehicle buyers (along with OEM and third-party sites), and is far more utilized during the car shopping process than traditional media like TV, newspaper magazine ads/articles, yellow pages, radio, etc. (Google/Compete Study 2007)

• 79% (4 in 5) of consumers use search engines to locate/research auto dealerships, and 72% rely on search engines to help them choose the dealer they will visit. (Yahoo!/Cobalt Study 2007)

• ‘Search consistently drives more active shoppers to all types of auto sites, including dealer sites, than any other navigational channel.’ (eMarketer Online Automotive Report 2007)

* Websites found by search engines: (Based on Automotive Internet Users)

OEM sites 77%
Indep Sites 59%
Dealer Sites 49%

(J.D. Power & Associates 2007 New Autoshopper.com Study)

• More vehicle buyers report that search created awareness of local dealers—as well as helped locate the dealer--than any other online or traditional media. (Yahoo!/Cobalt Study 2008)

• Auto Searchers are Key, Conquest Shoppers: Searchers consider more vehicle brands (3.4 brands) than non-searchers (2.6 brands). 44% of automotive search engine users consider 3-10 brands, and only 19% consider one brand. (Yahoo! Search Marketing Data 2006)

• Dramatic increases in what automotive consumers are doing with search engines (from 2003 to 2006):

(Source: U.S. Automotive Survey, Media-Screen . Cited in Google-authored piece in iMedia Connection 2006)