• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, April 9, 2014

Boostability is customizing its partner programs to enable traditional media companies -- including broadcast TV, radio and cable -- to begin offering advertising clients search engine optimization services that are complementary with their own advertising channels.

The new services should enable media companies and smaller agencies to help advertisers create coordinated campaigns that use traditional ad messaging to drive search traffic.

Travis Thorpe, Boostability’s CEO and founder, stated: “Television, cable and radio advertising all influence consumers to search online for products and services. They hear an ad on the radio or see a TV spot and then go online to learn more.  Adding online marketing services to broadcast ad package offerings will greatly increase the broadcaster's revenue and improve the advertiser's experience.”

Search remains the single largest sector of the online advertising industry -- accounting for around 43% of total digital ad revenues in the first half of 2013, with SEO revenues contributing an estimated $3.8 billion for the full year.

Desktop search’s relative share is declining somewhat, due to the rise of mobile advertising, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, but the mobile category includes mobile search, meaning search overall (multiplatform) continues to hold a dominant position in digital advertising.

A recent survey conducted by Borrell Associates for the Radio Advertising Bureau found that digital ad sales provide an opening for radio broadcasters to a much broader business as digital marketing consultants, as local businesses turn to radio sales staff for expertise in app development, search marketing expertise,  social media and email marketing initiatives.

Overall revenues from radio broadcasters’ local online advertising increased 13% in 2013 to $426 million, Borrell found. They are poised to jump 22% to $520 million in 2014.