Search continues to deliver despite increased costs

Fri, 4 Jun 2010 | By Will Cooper

The report, published by Econsultancy and Guava, which surveys over 500 brands and marketers, once again shows the search sector remains the most healthy of all online disciplines.

The majority of respondents said they were increasing search spend this year – 60% for SEO, 52% for PPC – with almost half (49%) saying their annual search budgets exceed £50,000. Indeed, 13% said they spend more that £1m on search each year, up from 8% in 2009.

However, there was mixed news for return of investment. Half of marketers (49%) said ROI for SEO had increased over the last year, but only 39% said PPC ROI has gone up – down from 43% last year.

Google’s prices are concerning many, with 69% saying keyword costs have increased over the year, compared to 42% for Microsoft. Nevertheless, 39% said ROI from Google had improved, showing that if you invest wisely then the returns are worthwhile.

The full report makes interesting reading and, alongside the recent IAB Europe figures – which said search spend grew by 10.8% last year compared to a 0.3% increase for display – shows how important search is to brands.

The point is, you have to do it. Many of us working in the online industry take search for granted, but there are still plenty of brands that are only just taking their first steps into search.

Entries to the nma Effectiveness Awards demonstrate this every year: for every major brand nominating another great campaign it has run, there’s a brand entering after running search activity for the first time.

Search might be getting more expensive but it’s still worth it.

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