Search marketing growth takes toll on print spending
“Small and midsize businesses are using search in place of newspaper and magazine advertising,” said Marissa Gluck, managing partner at Radar Research, which conducted the online survey of 867 search-engine advertisers and agencies in December and January. “We’re seeing a definite shift from print. That’s because [search is] efficient, and [advertisers] understand what they are getting for their money.”
Gluck said search’s edge is attributable to its efficiency and easy-to-track ROI. “Advertisers are really looking for efficiency and they want to mitigate risk; and search engine marketing fulfills both of those because you only pay for those [online users] who click.”
The North American search marketing industry grew overall from $9.4 billion in 2006 to $12.2 billion last year, exceeding SEMPO’s earlier projections of $11.5 billion.
This year, it predicts spending will reach $15.7 billion.
An overwhelming majority of dollars spent in 2007 (87.4%) was captured by paid placement, while organic SEO garnered 10.5%. Technology investment nabbed 1.4% of spending, and paid inclusion, 0.07%.
Nine of 10 advertisers (89%) said they use SEO. More than half (56%) said they expected to spend more on organic search this year compared with last year.
( source btobonline)
