Google Still The King of Driving Ecommerce Sales

Facebook and Instagram may be the darlings of many advertisers, but data shows Google is still the king of driving ecommerce traffic.

Analytics firm Oribi conducted an extensive study of shopping trends in 2019 and the results show that Facebook and Instagram still have a long way to go. According to the study, direct traffic in the form of mobile apps, email marketing and direct input accounts for nearly half of all traffic at 48.9%.

Behind that, however, is Google organic search at 20.6%. Rounding out the top three is Google paid search at 14.1%, while Facebook and Instagram came in at 9.6% and 1.5% respectively.

“Everyone seems to talk about Facebook’s shopping potential, but Google is, by far, the second traffic driver for online stores,” said Iris Shoor, Founder and CEO of Oribi. “And, despite Instagram’s rise, it’s responsible for less than 2% of traffic, even across the fashion stores we analyzed.”

When it comes to conversions, the news doesn’t look much better for either Facebook or Instagram. Google paid search provides 2.7% conversion rates, while Google organic search results in 2.5%. Facebook and Instagram, both paid and organic, only result in 1.5% and 0.8% respectively.

The study also showed a relatively clear distinction in the type of shopping the different platforms drive. Social media drives cheaper purchases, the digital equivalent of window shopping. In contrast, Google performs better for larger purchases where an individual is looking for, researching and buying something specific.

One thing is clear from Oribi’s study: Facebook and Instagram will need to work hard if they have any hope of challenging Google’s dominance in the ecommerce realm.