• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, October 17, 2005

Digitas has replaced Did-It.com with SearchIgnite for search bid management and analytics duties, Digitas and SearchIgnite are expected to announce today. The deal marks SearchIgnite's biggest partnership to date, said SearchIgnite founder and CEO Roger Barnette.

SearchIgnite, a division of Innovation Interactive, will provide the underlying technology to manage, track, and optimize multiple online campaigns simultaneously across major search engines--including Yahoo!, Google, MSN, and MIVA--based on clients' needs. Digitas clients that use search marketing include American Express, AT&T, Delta Air, and General Motors.

Did-It.com could not be reached for comment. Steven Kaufman, vice president of media at Digitas, declined to say why the ad agency stopped using Did-It.com.

Industry observers, however, said the move seemed to reflect a broader dissatisfaction with search engine marketers on the part of ad agencies.

"Right now, no one's happy with search. Period," said Forrester Research analyst Charlene Li. "It's not the no-brainer it used to be," she said. "It's a lot of hard work with indefinite results."

Charles Sardou, icrossing's director of paid search, added that rising pay-per-click prices left many agencies dissatisfied with search. "There's certainly a lot of shopping going on by companies who rushed online a year ago with high expectations," said Sardou.