• MarketingVOX, Wednesday, September 3, 2008 1:17 PM

New research from iCrossing finds that only about half of all search marketers integrate their client's search campaigns with offline channels. When they do, about a third of them cross-promote with direct mail or print (magazines and newspapers), and only about 12% tap broadcast mediums like TV or radio.

The biggest factor hindering multi-channel campaigns is a lack of budget, as 20% of the survey respondents said that was the cause. Other factors include a lack of human resources (15%) and personnel silos--11% of respondents said that they their organization had separate people managing search and offline channels.

The problem with these stats is that there's a clear correlation between offline marketing efforts and increased search traffic. For example, over two-thirds of search engine users hit the SERPs because of an offline promotion--and nearly 40% of them make a purchase from the company that prompted their initial search.

"Unfortunately, by failing to integrate their efforts with offline, search marketers are essentially ignoring the very channels that drive users to search," said iProspect President Robert Murray. "Obviously, there is a big disconnect between search marketing strategy and search engine user behavior."

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