Getting Found by American Consumers to Get Chosen: How Online Marketing is Changing in the USA

Update of August 2, 2025

It is always interesting to reread what was written years ago. On one hand, it gives an idea of how much things have changed since then, and on the other, it offers the opportunity to see if our interpretations or predictions have come true in whole or in part.

The following article was published in February 2019, yet it seems decades old. COVID first, and the emergence of artificial intelligence later, along with the entrenchment of social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, have radically changed the paradigm of online visibility, customer engagement, and customer acquisition.

The search models, with the advent of AI, have completely changed [and we're just at the beginning]. The way web pages are written has changed in line with how artificial intelligence algorithms operate. 

Overlaying all of this is multimedia [or multichannel, if you will] which represents an additional element of complexity to be aware of. Mobile, which in 2019 was still competing with desktop, has now won the game not only in terms of online research but also the transactional part [what happens after the search, if you will]

Update of February 18, 2019

Google, Smartphones, and MICROMOMENTS: Implications for Launching a Product in the American Market

Understanding how Google searches are conducted by users is very important for formulating a marketing plan in general and for managing the online part of sales activities. The constant use of smartphones and the substantial increase in mobile searches have dramatically impacted the “old” way customers decide whether or not to buy a product.

According to data and various statistics on how consumers conduct online searches, it can be observed that mobile is about to overtake fixed Internet access, while mobile advertising spending now accounts for 49% of total digital advertising expenditure. 
 

Google's Mobile First

In response to this shift of potential customers toward mobile, Google has conducted several ethnographic studies over the past year to understand how the consumer world is changing.
To understand consumer needs, Google is making changes to its search algorithm. According to studies conducted, it turns out that: 

• 82% of users use their smartphones to decide whether or not to purchase a product in a store.
• 62% of users use their smartphones to solve and address an interview issue, or to quickly perform a necessary activity.
• 90% of users use their smartphones to achieve a long-term goal, through a multi-step process.
• 91% seek answers through their smartphones in their spare time.

The purchasing decisions of American consumers do not happen in a logical and defined way. Instead, their choices happen at entirely random moments: the “micro-moments”. 

Micro-moments: What Are They and How to Recognize Them?
Micro-moments are the moments when consumers act on a certain stimulus in response to a need

When users want to: learn how to do something, increase their knowledge, watch or buy something, a micro-moment occurs that allows the consumer to make a decision or shape their preferences.
For Google, these are the four decisive moments in influencing consumer searches from mobile.

Each of us uses our smartphone with the intention of getting an immediate answer. It is precisely in the micro-moment when we want to know, do, go, or buy something, that a decision is made and the consumer transitions from someone seeking information to someone making a purchase.

Winning The Zero Moment of Truth and the Evolution Towards Micro-Moments
In 2005, Procter & Gamble theorized that the time it takes for a consumer to decide to buy a product when facing a shelf varies from 3 to 7 seconds.

The consumer chooses which product and brand to buy in just a few seconds. This assumption is no longer valid, as confirmed by Jim Lecinski, managing director of Google, in his book: "Winning the Zero Moment of Truth." In his book, Lecinski explains to companies that the customer no longer buys in a sensory way and no longer chooses the best brand solely by looking at the store shelf. The potential consumer first seeks information online and then possibly proceeds to purchase the product.

The “mental model” of the consumer has changed over time: previously, they planned the journey starting from a stimulus (advertisement) to reach the purchase and, finally, their experience with a specific brand. 

This process has now been interrupted, and consumers no longer react directly to advertising, but first go through friend reviews on Facebook, blogs, social media, and rely on reviews from other buyers. 

The fact of analyzing each product before making a decision has led companies to consider new strategies.

These strategies aim to quickly locate the company, so that it is present at the moment a potential consumer searches for a service: it is necessary to capture the consumer's attention during the discovery phase, not when they are thinking of purchasing.

These ideas have converged into the theory of micro-moments. Google's new guide invites companies to increasingly consider the various micro-moments that, in real-time, are linked to the consumer's intent to purchase. Through these scenarios, companies have the opportunity to influence potential customers' decisions and thus lead them toward a conversion and purchase decision. 

How Do Micro-Moments Influence Marketing Strategies?
Google's micro-moments are not an entirely new topic, but represent a concept that is increasingly reinforced by the strong use of smartphones directly in-store.  In purchasing decisions, the consumer no longer follows a linear and predictable model. It is necessary to create personalized advertising systems depending on the target, the nature of the need, and the potential customer's research at the moment they arise.

Micro-moments are causing a mental shift for companies: in a mobile-dominated world, it is necessary to embrace the change in decision-making models and incorporate it into marketing and sales strategies.

Micro-Moments: Actions that Influence Consumers 

Considering the searches users perform on Google, it is possible to understand some of the micro-moments that lead customers to act and thus influence the entire decision-making process, up to purchasing the product. 

According to Google, 1/3 of online consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 (Millennials) choose to buy their products only after doing an internet search. 

Browsing with a smartphone allows the buyer to immediately discover information, product details, opinions, and reviews.

For this reason, companies need to "win the moment” when the customer is looking for information.  When the consumer needs something, when an object breaks, or when they suddenly think of something they desire, they grab their smartphone and search for what they need.

Nowadays, consumers make purchases from the most unexpected places: at work, at home, in the kitchen, and even in the bathroom.  Companies must consider the user's "mobile" experience, trying to make it as consistent as possible from start to finish.

The user experience and purchase process must be as simple, fast, and focused as possible for the consumer. Finding the information and products they need should be easy, and proceeding to purchase should be just as straightforward.

Micro-moments are not only valuable for small purchases. Consumers also seek information for significant purchases like cars, houses, new PCs, etc. This research does not happen all at once, but is conducted day by day during moments of downtime, for example, while waiting in line at the post office! 

This concept is supported by Google's detection of mobile searches throughout the day. Here are the questions to ask to improve your online presence and facilitate the flow of purchases toward your product or service:

• How can I be helpful to the customer at all times?
• Am I shaping the user's preferences starting from the initial phase of the marketing strategy implementation?
• Am I offering the right “user experience” to the user searching for information online?

Some useful questions for creating the right online marketing strategy:

• Create a map of the “moments” to better examine all the key stages of the consumer's journey.
• Understand the customer's needs by putting yourself in the consumer's shoes.
• Offer the right context to make the customer's decision-making process more immediate.
• Optimize the guide path through the various channels where the potential customer travels.
• Measure each moment using credible estimates to ensure the strategy implemented is truly intercepting the users' needs.

Using all contextual signals such as location, time of day, and messages, one must ask, "How can I facilitate the search for information for potential consumers?”; "What are the most useful contents for the user's needs?"

Only by understanding the actions and intentions of new users can you fully exploit micro-moments and implement a strategy that meets the new consumer needs.