JS_Harris - 7:07 pm on Mar 19, 2010 (gmt 0)

The flaw in that study is that someone on Facebook is already online checking messages, updating family albums and/or playing some sort of 'ville game when they click on a link to see what's on the news.

In comparison someone going to google is actively looking for something specific at that moment in time.

It may very well be that media will get a more attentive audience from social networks (people who actively hang out online) but to say that retailers should switch their advertising attention to Facebook from Google is probably not a great idea imo.

Advertisers and retailers need some assurance that visitors will return again and again.

Retailers need assurance that visitors will return again and again WHEN they want to purchase a product or service. Visitors from search engines (not sure why the study targeted just Google) are already actively engaged in the chase and are less likely to be just casual browsers.