Formula for growth: How parents are using search to do what’s best for their child

This post was done in partnership with Google.

Parenthood marks a huge change in a person’s life: their goals and priorities go through a major shift, and their searches begin to revolve around their little bundle of joy.

To reach new parents at the key moments that matter, brands need to understand what parents are searching for, and why they are doing it. Here, our Search Lead at Google Malaysia, Jenny Lim, shares her journey to find the right formula for her child and the insights that came with it.

Becoming a parent means having to adapt to many changes. Your body is changing, your household is growing, and your life is practically turned upside down. When my little Emilie was born, it was one of the most exhilarating and bewildering moments in my life so far. I wanted the very best for her, and I had a million questions that I needed answers for.

Parents navigate parenthood with the help from search

I’m definitely not alone in turning to search to help me find the answers to the many questions I had as a parent. Around 200 million searches fall within the child and parenting category every year, with Google Search being the most commonly used touch-point.

In Malaysia alone, these two searches are growing by 30% year-on-year. Top searches in the child and parenting category  include: maternity and new parent, baby names, baby feeding, and child care.

Once I started looking at formula milk brands in the market, I realised I needed to research the ingredients and nutrients in the formula itself – this temporarily turned me into a bit of an amateur nutritionist!

Like me, many parents spend an average of eight days researching products before making the purchase, with most research done online. Meanwhile, 90% would have researched five products online at some point during their path to purchase, with 72% going straight online for their initial research.

Parents focus on their child’s needs

My daughter Emilie was underweight, so I looked for formula milk that would boost her appetite and help with her growth development. I started with search terms such as “best formula milk for underweight baby” to discover brands that offer formula milk for underweight children.

In fact, when we look at the top searches across multiple languages in Malaysia, we see that when most parents search for formula milk, they tend to look for products that cater to their child’s needs, such as nutrition, age-appropriate formulas, allergies, digestion, taste, and physical growth.

Parents tend to place their child’s needs first, and brand loyalty second – 70% of searches for formula milk are generic search terms, which tells us parents are performing seven broad general category researches before ultimately deciding on a brand.

After I narrowed down brands with a milk formulation that addressed Emilie’s concerns, I continued my research on the key nutrients that make up the brands’ milk formula.

So, it is not surprising that specific nutrients such as DHA, iron, zinc and probiotics come up a lot in search. Parents want eight to understand not just what ingredients make for an effective product, but also which formula combines these ingredients in a way that promotes overall growth and development.

Parenting does not sleep

Parenting is definitely not a nine-to-five job. In Malaysia, searches for formula milk consistently spike in the early hours of the morning, a sign that parents are still looking for solutions online, even as they’re up all night soothing their crying child.

This behaviour is also consistent outside of Malaysia as illustrated in the short YouTube video below.

Parents prefer to get things done online

Adjusting to parenthood is not an easy thing to do, so it makes a lot of sense that parents tend to value convenience. Searches related to buying formula milk online have grown by 46% year-on-year. After all, when so much research is done online, it makes sense that parents increasingly look to purchase online too.

By observing search data and trends for formula milk, we see how parents are growing to rely on Search to help them navigate the challenges of parenthood and do what is best for their child. With Search, brands can gain an insight into what matters to new parents, and reach them at high-intent moments online.