Search engine marketing set to surge

Stuart Corner
Monday, 16 April 2007 11:25

Your IT - Home IT

According to Internet market research company, Jupiter Research, 26 percent of large US advertisers plan to increase spending on search engine marketing by more than 25 percent this year.

Jupiter found an additional 28 percent of large advertisers anticipate spending increases between 11 and 25 percent, based on the expectation that keyword prices will continue to rise.

The news co-incides with reports that revenue in Telstra's directories arm, Sensis, is suffering as an increasing number of advertisers shift their spend from its print directories to online advertising, with lower yields.

"Because marketers with large companies anticipate including major search engines as part of their branding campaigns, they realise this tactic could result in additional expenses and are planning accordingly," said Kevin Heisler, JupiterResearch analyst and lead author of the report. He added: "But the additional cost is just one of the challenges faced by marketers today."


In addition to keyword inflation, complex campaign management and methods of tracking the success of search engine marketing activity continue to elude marketers, Jupiter says, and it suggests that greater collaboration among company CEOs, CMOs, and CTOs could change that.

"New media has changed the focus of marketing strategies used by companies of all sizes. Accountability is crucial, but understanding these tactics shouldn't fall solely to chief marketing officers," said David Schatsky, president of JupiterResearch. "Other key players such as chief technology officers and brand managers should also be involved in the search evaluation process."

The Australian Financial Review reported today, 16 April, that un-named senior Sensis executives had suggested the company would not meet its 2006-2007 revenue targets. It quoted Macquarie Research analysts saying that print advertising revenue had fallen 2.5 percent on a like-for-like basis in the December half, as revenue shifted to online and mobile advertising and to rivals.

General manager corporate affairs, Prue Deniz, was quoted saying that guidance was unchanged, but refusing to discuss current revenue performance.