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Consumer online tire search habits

Lizeo, the leader in online data in the tire industry, regularly analyzes the searches carried out by consumers on the Internet when they want to replace their tires and when they are looking for tires adapted to their needs. 

Analyzing online searches gives us a better understanding of consumers, the questions they ask themselves before putting new tires on their vehicles, and the criteria they put towards their search.

The goal is to identify the main search patterns, the main digital touchpoints (sellers, prescribers or tire brands), and also to reveal emerging trends in the longevity of searches.

The challenges faced by tire manufacturers include:

  • Identifying consumer online search habits for tires
  • Identifying the digital touchpoints to which consumers are exposed to during their buying and search journeys
  • Assessing the spontaneous awareness of tire brands
  • Collecting data to refine its understanding of the online market and making the right decisions

The Lizeo methodology for analyzing the consumer online search journey

Lizeo identifies the search patterns of internet users when they are in the tire pre-purchase phase and its knowledge of the products and characteristics of the tire market. 

This method is then divided into 5 key steps:

  • Definition of keywords and search queries to build a defined lexical universe

    Selecting the keywords that make up the lexical universe requires specific knowledge of the tire industry along with the market context (distribution, brands and specific tire patterns). In addition, the universe is enriched with keywords using SEO tools.

  • Extraction of search volumes

    We extract the search volumes for each keyword on Google, which corresponds to the average monthly searches on a full year basis.

  • Simulation of search results by query

    This stage will allow you to retrieve the results data from the Google page for each keyword or query at a given moment in time to estimate the potential traffic for each website.

  • Classification of digital touchpoints

    Ranking and classification of the 100 best performing websites in terms of estimated number of clicks in this particular universe.

  • Categorization of retailer websites

    For each e-commerce site, Lizeo carries out a detailed analysis to determine which is the most significant and relevant to the market.

Online search analysis : what do we learn from the data we collect?

Consumer searches by category

The main search patterns

Some insights:

  • The study reveals that in the US tire market, 39.0% of searches are related to retailer (dealers, garages or car centers), which means that users are mainly looking for a service provider to meet their tire purchase, repair, or mounting & balancing needs. Consumers are looking first and foremost for a professional who can change their tires and also for an expert to advise them on the type of tires needed for their vehicle.
  • On the other hand, although online purchases of tires have risen sharply in recent years, drivers still need to call a professional to mount and balance their tires, which also explains the weight of this category in consumer searches.
  • The second type of search is linked to a specific location, indicating a preference for nearby solutions and convenience.
  • Searches for brands and/or products account for 15.9% of total searches, which is massive compared to European countries (UK and France). The U.S. market places a lot of trust in tire manufacturers, and directs part of their search to their brands.

The retailers most searched for

The retailers most spontaneously searched for

Some insights:

  • In the retailer category, Click & Mortar comes out on top, with DiscountTire emerging as the most mentioned keyword, constituting 36.9% of searches around retailers, followed by Tirerack at 8.4%, and Firestone Complete Auto Care 6%. This highlights the dominance of national retailers in consumer preferences.

The websites and digital touchpoints that capture most of the traffic

Click & Mortar dealers capture most of the Internet traffic linked to tire searches in the United States, followed by Pure player dealers with a total of almost 58% of estimated traffic directed to these sites.

Information websites represent an important part of the search results. Social networks, blogs, forums, and other informational sites account for around 15% of the estimated traffic. This offers a great opportunity to partner with these sites to redirect traffic to a target site.

The websites that attract the most traffic

Some insights:

  • Information sites do well in this universe getting a large share of the estimated traffic. The subjects they cover are varied: some sites will talk about cars, others about tires, may include blogs, press articles, tests, sharing of good tips, legislation, etc.
  • Collaboration can be set up with these sites to increase visibility and brand awareness.
  • Cars guide, tire-pressure and wikipedia are examples of this type of site.

Do you want to understand and learn more about your customer buying journey?

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