Search Engine marketing spending is increasing in 2009 !
Despite the faltering economy, search marketing is holding up well, as marketers focus on tools that promise the strongest return on investment. According to a new study by interactive marketing analytics company ., year-over-year growth in paid search in North America stood at 32% in the third quarter, in line with several other analyses and relatively unchanged from earlier in the year.
“We believe that search is not immune to macroeconomic forces, but we also believe it will have the least relative decline of the various marketing tools,” said C Macdonald, “There’s less risk in spending money on search. It’s very measurable and the cheapest form of lead acquisition out there.” Echoed D Alampi, VP at enterprise software company : “Because you can measure precisely your return on different Web marketing activities, you know what you’ll get in return and can dial it up or down.”
Forrester Research projects that paid search marketing will grow 26% this year, and that search budgets will remain stable through much of 2009. “Because of its inherent accountability, search offers a safe haven for marketers and advertisers who are pushed by the recession to meet some pretty aggressive goals,” said Evan Andrews, interactive marketing analyst with Forrester. “You can track every cent and every click. Search is comfort food for marketers.”
If search budgets remain relatively healthy, it will likely be at the expense of other forms of marketing outreach. “We’re seeing that traditional agencies are getting hit before digital agencies,” said Pruitt, of SEMPO ” Some advertisers are increasing spend because search is working.”