Forget Traditional Media: Online Search Now Most-Trusted, Popular Media Source
In another blow to beleaguered traditional media, a recent poll discovered that online search engines are winning the battle for status as most-trusted media source.
The poll results published by Edelman indicate that — based on the collected data — 64 percent of internet users worldwide trusted online search engines the most (vs. 63 percent the prior year) for information.
Traditional media took a big hit, showing a “response rate” that has fallen from 65 percent to 62 percent in just one year.
Hybrid media—which blends traditional and digital formats—sat in third place, holding tight at 53% of respondents.
“While social media and owned media rounded out the list, both saw decent gains. Nearly half of respondents trusted social media for news and information, compared with 45 percent the prior year, and the response rate for owned media rose from 44 percent to 47 percent,” notes eMarketer.
It’s pretty much the same story when it comes to business information. There, search engines are seeing a surge. They remain the most popular source, said 31 percent of survey respondents, up from 29 percent. A mere 20 percent turn to newspapers — a loss of 4 percentage points for a traditional media source.
According to eMarketer, “U.S. search ad spending (will) increase 12.2 percent in 2015, totaling $25.66 billion. Growth will be steady over the next few years, fueled by rising mobile and local search ad outlays. Desktop search spending will decline annually through 2018, while mobile search will increase by $12.84 billion during that time period.”
