SEO Investments Expected To Grow More Than 20%

by Laurie Sullivan, Mar 3, 2009, 7:04 AM

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As marketers begin to better understand how Web site optimization fits into overall campaigns, budget investments in search engine optimization (SEO) will grow at a higher rate each year, compared with other types of search marketing strategies, according to a recent report from eMarketer.

The report, "Search Marketing Trends: Back to Basics," suggests that growth will decline for paid search from 15.9% in 2009 to 11.3% in 2013--while SEO growth will jump from 17.7% to 20.3%, respectively.

"Every company is losing some business because of the economy, whether they buy less, or not at all," said David Hallerman, eMarketer senior analyst. "There is a greater focus on customer acquisition. Search is the best tool for that."

Internet users generally find organic listings more relevant than paid search ads, so they tend to click on the search engine results more often than pay-per-click (PPC) ads, Hallerman said. But marketers should design campaigns that combine paid search advertising and SEO.

Overall, U.S. spending on search engine marketing will nearly double from $12.2 billion in 2008 to $23.4 billion in 2013. All four types of search marketing will gain more marketer dollars each year.

Successful deployment of both methods could mean higher rankings in search query results. Each offers benefits. For example, paid search's effects are immediate, but marketers need to spend consistently for those sponsored-link ads to appear in search results. SEO effects take time, but marketers need Web site maintenance more than daily spending to sustain high organic results. How long it takes to deliver a return on investments (ROI) depends on conversions, Hallerman said.

While lots of data makes search more accountable than other ad media, too much data could overwhelm marketers and create confusion that clouds decisions, according to Hallerman. More important, the abundance of data makes Web analytics crucial for managing the process.

While marketers might see increased traffic as positive, if the search ad's cost relative to its conversion rate means a reduced bottom line, the marketer would need to examine the strategy, including bids on certain keywords, keywords to bid on, and the search engine to place ads on.

"Far more marketers say SEO is much harder to gauge because it has far less metrics," Hallerman said. "SEO is like public relations. You hope people will notice and buy the product. It's a lot like tracking buzz."

 

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0 comments on "SEO Investments Expected To Grow More Than 20% ".

1. Michael Rotkin from hydroponicswholesale.com
   

   commented on: March 3, 2009 at 1:23 p.m.

   Its nice to know Seo investments will grow in 2009 and beyond. I own a online retail store that has over 1,000 Seo keywords.

   Lets go SEO
   http://www.seochampion.com/seoblog/search-engine-optimisation-seo-investments-expected-to-grow-more-than-20.php

2. Erica Forrette from PacSun.com
   

   commented on: March 3, 2009 at 5:08 p.m.

   Observation re this quote: "There is a greater focus on customer acquisition. Search is the best tool for that."

   I attended E-tail West last week and numerous speakers mentioned that the new focus for '09 is customer RETENTION, using segmentation & analytics. Interesting and opposite of Hallerman's quote...

   I'm of the mind set you kind of have to do both. Acquire new customers cost-effectively, but also work to retain more of the existing.

   SEO is great for acquisition, no doubt, and when you amortize the initial and ongoing costs vs. the visitors/customers acquired, it is often far less expensive than all other forms of paid advertising.

3. Rod Brady from InDevX
   

   commented on: March 4, 2009 at 12:43 a.m.

   We have seen our small business clients becoming much more aware of how important SEO is in their marketing strategies, both from their own company website, but also including local search directories, like Yellow Assistance, Merchant Circle, etc. in the mix to drive traffic.

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