Advertisers Will Pay More To Connect Directly With Consumers

Online advertisers are willing to open their wallets to connect directly with consumers. Behavioral targeting and local search, as well as video and mobile search, are prompting the shift, according to findings from the "SEMPO Annual State of the Market 2008 Survey" of advertisers and agencies by the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO). 

Nearly one-third of survey participants have tried locally targeted search ads and think "it works great." About 34% tried locally targeted search and thought "it works okay." More than three out of five marketers, or 62%, would pay between 1% and 5% to target consumers with local -- up from two in five advertisers last year. And one in five would pay between 6% and 10%, dropping from one-third in 2007.

About 75% of survey respondents said they would pay more for clicks targeted to in-market consumers. On average, advertisers would pay 10% more for demographic and targeting at a specific time in the day, and 13% more for behavioral search targeting. Two in five advertisers said they are not targeting or retargeting searchers, but plan to in the next 12 months.

Kevin Lee, a member of the board of director at SEMPO, and Didit chairman and cofounder, said the definition of search marketing has broadened to encompass social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

"Another interesting development has been the retargeting of searches using display media, where you buy banner inventory against people who have completed a search," Lee said. "Although technically it's a display ad, people consider it a search ad because the targeting behavior is search."

That's good news for search marketing because it provides a stronger foundation for growth. It could mean larger budgets for search-related campaigns, too. SEMPO had previously reported that the SEM market would reach $26.1 billion in 2013, up from $14.7 billion this year.

Social media will continue to build market share. More than 40% of advertisers who participated in the survey said they use in-house marketers to promote brand on social media. Of respondents using social media, Facebook leads. More than four out of five advertisers use Google's social media site to promote their brand.

The online survey from Radar Research was completed by 890 search engine advertisers and SEM agencies and administered via IntelliSurvey.

Behavioral Targeting chart

1 comment about "Advertisers Will Pay More To Connect Directly With Consumers".
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  1. Nina Braun from elm Technology, April 9, 2009 at 10:54 a.m.

    Gaining measured results and consumer behavioral insights is becoming the expected norm in online advertising but what is still missing is online customer service. Cost per Action (CPA) is an ideal situation for an advertiser but to increase those actions by consumers, more directed, consumer guidance is required. Consumers need, more then ever, to trust companies in order to make purchases (actions). The question remains - how do you improve on trust and customer service online which will inevitably lead to more actions? elmlifedotcom.

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