Spain, as we confirmed last year with our Digital Barometer 2017, is a digitized country that is at the forefront of Europe in terms of integrating technology into the daily lives of users. If last year we talked about 90% of users who connected daily to the Internet, this year according to the updated data of the Google Consumer Barometer, we are 92% .

This fact is related to the increase in the use of the smartphone in our country with 96% , which means 29.4 million users in Spain, 7.9 million more than in 2016. Each time we connect more to the internet thanks to the possibility of connection offered by this type of mobile devices. Google as other major search engines, have noticed this fact, so alert the webs of the need to have a design focused on the multi-device. From last year, Google began to benefit in positioning those online sites that had a Responsive Web design. Every time the world is more mobile and businesses must account for it to reach their target audience; in Spain 81% of the users that connect daily in the network do so through the smartphone .  

Regarding the viewing of online videos, our country leads the ranking with 87% of users who view multimedia content on a daily basis. It is an important fact, since it exceeds in 10 points to the United Kingdom, and in 5 to Denmark. Spaniards visualize more online videos than the rest of Europe, therefore, we must adapt our digital marketing strategies to the use made by users of new technologies. In 2020 the largest content that will circulate on the Internet will be video , why not be pioneers to a trend that is already present in the network?

In Spain, 1 out of every 4 users are informed online about products and services and then finish the purchase process in the physical establishment of the business (ROPOs); and 7 out of 10 decide to finish the purchase online. 95% of online shoppers prefer the computer to make their purchases, while 38% prefer the mobile. The main reasons for buying through smartphone are the following: prices (65%), ease of use (57%), trust (49%), discounts (34%) and web design (31%).

What does the user seek to decide to buy a product and / or service? 51% of users look for prices and features while 33% prefer to consult recommendations and opinions of other users. 19% investigate the availability of the service while others consult videos (9%), addresses (9%) and promotions (9%). To find this type of information, they mainly go to search engines such as Google (47%) and the professional website of the business in question (23%). In addition, they also decide to visit blogs (7%) and check online videos (7%), how to use Social Networks (4%).

The search is one of the main actions carried out by Internet users every day , either to check your agenda or check the news. If we focus on local searches we can observe the following trends: 58% carry out searches in order to find a location; 54% prices, 30% promotions, 28% schedules, 19% photographs and 12% contact information. This points out to us, the importance of being present in the main search engines and of focusing our marketing strategy towards geolocation, on the internet is essential for a company that users find you, and more if they are close to the activity radius. Having a tab in Google My Business and Bing Places, allows small and medium businesses to stand out in search engines and offer their potential customers all the relevant information about their company.

We have observed that Spain is at all levels of user among the top positions of digitization and uses of technologies in Europe, however, in the business sector we find much less positive results, only 14% of small businesses claim to have a plan for its digitalization and only 31, 5% of the Spanish micro-companies (less than 10 employees) claim to have a website. It is a devastating fact taking into account that they are 95, 8% of the total of the companies of our country.

Small and medium businesses must face the age of the internet and embark on digital marketing strategies; Nowadays, if you are not on the Internet, you do not exist, and you should trust professionals who help small businesses compete against big brands, using the advantages of social networks and local positioning. Knowing your clients and using a successful marketing strategy on the web is key to reaching online success . QDQ opinions from our clients endorse the need for online presence by SMEs; You must break the fear and think big to start getting small and important achievements.

La entrada Barómetro Digital 2018: la gran brecha entre usuarios y empresas se publicó primero en QDQ Media.