A 'Cheap Bag' Does Not
a 'Vintage Bag' Make

Hitwise's Sandra Hanchard recently conducted analysis on "search value determinants" to learn how consumers associate certain modifying terms with the items they search for.

Terms like "deals" and "cheap," for example, are typically associated with the travel industry.

Some findings:

• The term "prices" is most commonly associated with commodities, like iron and gold, as well as stocks
• The travel industry lays claim to terms like "deals" and "cheap," although vehicles and computers are also sought under "cheap."
• "Vintage" is a phrase generally relegated to brands and clothing - "vintage barbie" and "vintage gucci bag," for example
• "Sale" is often used in combination with major purchases like cars, boats and homes

Cars are also sought in combination with where they might be from, i.e. "japanese used cars" or "used cars auckland."

The conclusion drawn from the data sets is that consumers appear to associate certain terms with a specific set of product categories.

Hanchard points out that awareness of such search "modifiers" may better assist marketers in refining the search engine marketing process.

Charts and other data are available at Hitwise.