• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, October 21, 2016

IgnitionOne, which once solely supported search engine advertising, has been quietly realigning its business model to focus on data, algorithmic approaches and machine-learning technology to deliver targeted ads across multiple channels programmatically.

"It's the straw that stirs the drink," says Roger Barnette, president at IgnitionOne. "We started as a search company, so it seems natural to morph into more of a data business when you think about how the data impacts search."

As Google and Bing build out their services, IgnitionOne will continue to focus on that data that supports ad-copy creation and ad targeting. It's also about modifiers based on a transaction and how search on a mobile phone in a specific geolocation supports clients like Bridgestone, Fiat, General Motors, LaQuinta, and Land Rover, which are listed as clients on the company's Web site.

Perhaps the reason for the realignment shows up in the quarterly digital marketing report IgnitionOne publishes each quarter.

In the third quarter of 2016, the IgnitionOne report shows that in the third quarter of 2016, among the company's clients, advertising spend less on U.S. paid search ads running on Google. About 4% in the third-quarter, compared with the prior year-ago quarter, as the search giant looks for other ways to monetize advertising. The decline on desktop began earlier this year.

Mobile search spend rose despite overall downward trend. Advertisers spent 14% more in the quarter, compared with the year-ago three months.

Interestingly, advertisers working with IgnitionOne spent more on Google display ads and much less on Facebook.

U.S. programmatic display rose 23% YoY in the third quarter, and Facebook spend fell 22% as the company plans to shutter Facebook Exchange in November 2016.