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I came across a post about some recent Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (or SEMPO) data released from their "State of Search Engine Marketing" survey over at Search Engine Land. I thought I post some quick hits – and thoughts – for ya’ll to ponder.
The survey focused on ‘spending trends on paid placement, paid inclusion, organic search engine optimization (SEO) and SEM’ with North American advertisers. North America still represents the majority of search marketing spent in the Global marketplace.
Apparently Search Marketing continues to erode traditional marketing channels – obviously offline marketing taking the biggest hit. Unfortunately for the freelance or small SEO provider, much of that increase is being spent on ‘in-house’ staffing than it is on outsourced. This means some potential tightening up and consolidation within the SEO industry itself.
- Consider the Source –
Now I went through the ‘available info and even a few other referrenced ‘guesstimates’ – as always numbers can vary greatly. This means I would always advise caution and not base this years business plan according to this statistical sampling. I would also note some of these numbers are not consistent with my company’s client base activities, but I am more in the SMB sector. I get the feeling this is not the core sample group here, though that data was not available in the limited snippets I came across.
Now for some quick hits for the U.S. and Canadian SEM industry
What did they Spend?
$9.4 billion - amount spent on SEM in 2006,
62% - the increase over 2005 spending.
The Skinny - According to the study, paid placement came in at 86% of the over-all take. Higher competitive PPC marketplaces make SEO a more attractive option in my opinion. Lean on it.
Where did they Spend it?
74% - spent money on Organic search optimization
71% - ran paid placement campaigns
86% - of total spent on paid placement
12% - of total directed at Organic Search
The Skinny - total spending on paid placement - at $8 billion – is a striking contrast to the $1.1 Billion SEO pulled down, up slightly from last year's 11%.
Paid Search;
96% - laid out cash on Google's AdWords, the most popular search advertising program
86% - spent on Yahoo Search Marketing.
68% - took the plunge with Microsoft’s new adCenter program, up from 29% last year.
The Skinny – Looks like a great battle heating up for this year. Was MS AdCenter a novelty? We shall see. The struggles in the social networking world should speak volumes on who comes out on top of this one in 2007.
What's search marketing being used for?
Last year;
62% - said branding was the primary objective of search marketing campaigns
60% - said that selling products was a key objective
This year;
58% - Direct sales
57% - Brand awareness
The Skinny – the upwards trend to adopting the web for ecommerce over mere branding and support purposes should see this trend continue to move in the favor of ‘direct sales’.
Analytics/Tracking
less than 21% track or measure branding impact.
73% - track increased traffic volume.
71% - measure conversion rates.
68% - track click-through rates.
The Skinny – I truly have to wonder on this one. I am unsure as to what were the qualifiers used to make the assertion that the respondants are actually measuring conversions and analytics. Many webmasters have asccess to them, but few implement the tools properly. Does ‘measure’ simply mean looking at some reports? It’s unclear. I am a huge believer that analytics and conversions will get a higher profile over the next 18 months
So there you have it. I do feel tentative on the data, as I would reading a Search Patent - pass the shaker, I need a few grains of salt - if you please
Until next time – watch yer step.
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