The explosion of content geared toward a variety of computer, cloud and mobile devices will continue to drive search marketing budgets and strategies. Welcome to 2011 and a new year of Search
Marketing Daily.
As J.P. Morgan Analyst Imran Khan points out in a report, Nothing But Net, released Monday, the cost of content creation and distribution continues to decline, providing
opportunities for businesses. To survive, however, I believe traditional media companies will need to tap resources from Google and other search and tech companies to address their inability to
fulfill consumer demand. These are the same media companies that threatened to put up pay walls and shut out search engines in 2010.
As time on the Net continues to grow, online publishers
will experience stronger advertising sales. J.P. Morgan estimates global paid search revenue to grow at a 17% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) during the next four years and global graphical
advertising to grow at a four-year CAGR of 11%. Overall, the forecast for global online advertising should reach about $105 billion by 2014.
Some of that growth this year will come from the
emergence of tablets, I believe. This year I suspect AT&T, Verizon and others will finally create and standardize affordable pay as you go Internet services. The tablet will create new opportunities
for advertisers targeting consumers who don't want to download movies or content to read or watch on small devices such as Apple iPod or Google smartphones powered by Android. An online ad game
changes begin talked about this morning across the Internet include a Google digital newsstand, a move that
in my opinion would have far more reaching positive implications for newspaper and magazine industries in terms of local advertising than some might realize.
Mark Moskowitz, J.P. Morgan's
hardware analyst, estimates 46 million tablets sold in 2011. The investment firm cautions against failure to understand the mobile audience. In the report, Khan explains the dangers for content
aggregators, publishers and advertisers.
Mobile search is one of the Top 10 innovations Khan will continue to watch in 2011. He calls monetization of mobile searches a critical factor for
Google's growth. J.P. Morgan estimates Google generates about 15% of its query volume from mobile devices, yet mobile searches contribute just 3% of revenue.
Will Google Android take the
tablet market? In the electronics industry, typically the first to market wins. While Apple's iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab led, a tablet the size of Kindle or Nook provides consumers with a portable
device, and more space to browse, compared with mobile phones. So, the Via Tablet running Android from Visio shouldn't come as a surprise. Expect Visio to unveil the device at the Consumer Electronics
Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week. It will sport an 8-inch, high-resolution screen; WiFi wireless connectivity; three speakers; and a front-facing camera for video conferencing. CES watchers also
expect Lenovo to launch tablets.
Google's attempt might work to get back in the good graces of publishers like Time Warner and Conde Nast and Hearst by agreeing to take a smaller slice on
any sales made from Android apps, at least smaller than the 30% cut Apple typically takes on iTunes sales. The idea might work not only to increase readership, but also local display and search
marketing ads lumped in with mobile.
Besides, the app and the ad markets for tablets are much bigger than newsstands. Scholastic Media debuted Monday under the new brand Touch & Tilt its
first children's storybook apps designed for the iPad. The apps feature animated interaction to engage children with the story, ability to touch the words to hear the story, and music and sound
effects.