If you’ve ever questioned the importance of search engine optimization (SEO), a new study should put to bed any doubts.

In its annual Digital Influence Index, Fleishman-Hillard explored how search engines affect purchasing decisions and found a whopping 89 percent of consumers turn to search engines like Google and Bing to find information on products and services before they buy.

The study also highlights Facebook’s importance in brand marketing. Among the findings:

• Nearly half of those surveyed (42 percent) currently follow or friend a brand on a social networking site. While the reasons vary widely by country, the overall greatest motivation: to learn more about the brand (79 percent).

• Nearly one in five individuals now looks to Facebook to obtain information about a brand or product.

• Almost two out of three consumers surveyed use a mobile/smartphone to gain information on a brand, product or destination at least three or four days a week.

• Overall, 43 percent of consumers have played a game with other people on a PC, and 28 percent have done so using a mobile device.

To take advantage of the findings of this research, Brafton calls for search optimization campaigns and a commitment to content marketing:

“The web has become, more than anything else, a massive portal of information. Businesses can leverage this trend by implementing a content marketing strategy focused on original articles about their industry.”