Search engine marketing spend is expected to rise going into 2010. Forrester put out a great report on US Interactive Marketing Spend (a little pricey at $1749, but interesting). According to SEOmoz’s Rand Fishkin, two graphics struck him as particularly compelling. Rand, being one of the authoritative voices in Search marketing, we will look at his opinions:
SEO trails only social media and online video as places where marketers (not just search marketers, but ALL marketers) will be shifting dollars.
Meanwhile, SEO continues to outpace PPC in terms of CAGR. We’ve still got a long way to go before balance is established between the share of clicks SEO commands and the fraction of spend it receives, but the gap is slowly closing.
Another very interesting graphic would be the Google Trend chart showing the climb in interest, specifically around SEO on the web, as shown below:
Staring into a crystal ball is a dangerous undertaking, especially when you’re attempting to predict the future of a market as dynamic as paid search. Leading analysts continue to project that paid search marketing spend in the U.S. will grow from $13 billion in 2009 to $26 billion by the year 2014. But how this growth will happen remains unclear. One thing is certain, as more dollars flow into paid search, the number of tactics, targeting options and channels available for search marketers will need to grow to ensure that search campaigns can deliver ever-increasing ROI.
Internet advertising is the only medium with growth expected this year, and it is the channel that will lead growth in 2010. In addition, within all media, the online industry will generate more than $60 billion in advertising revenues next year, and $99 billion by 2015, according to Magna.
Adam Smith of GroupM explained on line’s health can be attributed to its alignment with traditional direct marketing principles.
“Just like in the old days, direct marketing used to be the safe haven because it provides quick measurable results, online has assumed that safe haven role now,” he said. “Paid search is basically half of online and you only pay for results.”
ZenithOptimedia cited similar numbers online: $60.4 billion for next year. It also predicted that search will continue to lead all online advertising.
“Paid search is the engine of Internet growth,” the company said in a statement.
So as you can see, search marketing- PPC and organic SEO have no where to go but up. What does that mean for businesses? It means that if you aren’t going to spend your marketing budget on the right avenues- your competitors surely will.
