Category: Search Marketing

Paid Search Impressions and Clicks Increasing, Cost Decreasing

Posted on by Andrew

Paid search spending grew 30.3% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2012, representing the highest growth rate since the last quarter of 2010 (35%).

These numbers come from IgnitonOne, who tracked Internet marketing usage during this time period.

Mobile and tablet paid search also increased, with spending up 221.1% year-over-year, and impressions up 119.9%.

Despite the increased budget spending, cost-per-click didn’t increase, rising just 0.9% year-over-year. Clicks rose 32.5% and click-through rates were up 25.3%.

All these numbers mean good things for small businesses trying to use search marketing. Clicks and click-through rates are rising, and the cost per click isn’t changing at all. This means that businesses are getting more impression and clicks than ever before for the same price.

If you’re interested in getting started with search engine marketing, contact us today. We target and fine-tune all of our campaigns, giving you the best return possible on all your marketing efforts.

Local Digital Ad Spend to Reach $38.5B by 2016

Posted on by Andrew

In a new report from research firm BIA/Kelsey, it projected that local online and mobile advertising will grow at an annual rate of 12.7%.

These numbers show substantial lift compared with the $21.2B spent in 2011, but still pale in comparison to traditional advertising spend.

Traditional Spend was $111.5B in 2011, but is only projected to grow to $112.7B. Those are essentially flat numbers, meaning not much will change from no until 2016. In fact, traditional ad spend will decrease to account for about 75% of overall ad budgets, dropping almost 10% from the 84% it’s at now.

This research shows that more and more small businesses are investing into digital advertising, but the real question is: are you?

If you haven’t evaluated your online strategy recently, you need to. Digital advertising is not going away, in fact, it’s only getting bigger.

Check out some of our offerings for digital marketing. We do all sorts of search and display advertising. We also do email marketing, mobile websites and more.

Mobile, Mobile and More Mobile

Posted on by Andrew

We’ve preached over and over how mobile is changing the digital marketing and advertising business. We’ve seen it with our own clients, and marketers across the U.S. are increasing their mobile budgets as well.

The latest report comes from Marin, a search-management software company. They predict that mobile will be bigger than desktop soon, and that marketers need to raise budgets accordingly.

One prediction is that at the current run-rates, mobile devices will account for 25% of all paid search clicks on Google by December 2012. Additionally, the share of ad spend will be 23%. Those are additions of 103% and 164%, respectively.

One of the driving factors behind all of this growth in mobile is the insanely fast consumer adoption of smartphones and tablets. In 2011 alone, Apple sold more iOS devices than the total number of Macs ever sold in the last 28 years.

Another reason for adding mobile into your business’ marketing strategy is that smartphones have higher click-through rate, and a lower cost-per-click than both desktop and tablets. Smartphone users click on ads 4.12% of the time compared with 2.39% for desktops and 3.12% for tablets. Additionally, the cost per click is only $.53 for smartphones, compared with $.83 and $.63 for desktops and tablets, respectively.

So have you decided that you need mobile yet? Well if you haven’t yet, I’ll do my best to convince you with some more data about mobile over the next few days.

Search Engine Use Continues to Grow

Posted on by Andrew

More than half of adult search engine users make searches at least once a day. That represents a 54% increase from 35% in 2004. This represents a huge increase in the number of people that use search engines to find information.

These numbers come from a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Search engine use has never been higher. Daily use is highest among 18-29 and 30-49 year-olds (60%), college graduates (70%), and people with household incomes of more than $75k (68%).


Search engines are also seen as reliable sources of information, while almost three-quarters of users say that most of the information they find is accurate and trustworthy.

So what does all this mean for small business marketing? Well, it means that if you aren’t in the search results, you need to be. Search engines are being used more frequently than ever to find information, and users see them as a reliable and trustworthy way to find what they’re looking for.

One way to get in the top of the search results is with search targeting. Also known as paid search, search targeting gets your ads into the top of the search results page, resulting in increased visibility and clicks.

Another way to show up in search results is to optimize your Google Places page. Create a unique Google Places page that provides information for people to find your business.

Another way to get better results in the local search rankings is to use a business directory service to get more citations of your business. A service such as Local AdsUpNow gets your business listed in almost 150 directories, giving your business increased presence and authority in Google’s eyes.

It’s not too late to get in the search results. Contact us today to get started with search targeting or Google Places Optimization.

More Marketers Flocking to Mobile

Posted on by Andrew

These days, information is passed through more channels than ever before. It used to be the big three: radio, TV, and print. Now, digital marketing has overtaken print to become the second-largest advertising medium based on spend.

2012 seems poised to continue the trend of proliferating digital marketing and advertising – especially in mobile. In a recent survey by ValueClick, 65% of US marketers’ planned on increasing their mobile ad spend for 2012.

The increase is notable, but what’s also significant is that only 3% said they were going to decrease their budget for mobile. I’m not sure who those 3% are, but they need to wake up and smell the mobile.

Another stat from the report is that the lion’s share of mobile ad budgets are going to search and banner ads, with 34% and 30.7% respectively. Also, 49% of marketers plan to use mobile video as part of their budget.

Mobile is emerging as the next large advertising medium, and with more dollars being spent online – both mobile and desktop – than ever before, marketers and business owners need to jump on board and get their feet wet in mobile.

Digital Politcal Ad Spend Increasing

Posted on by Andrew

It’s an election year, which means upcoming political candidates are spending a lot of advertising dollars are being spent to promote their campaigns.

According to new numbers from a report by Borrell Associates, online political ad spending is set to increase to $160 million this year – up from just $22 million in 2008. That marks a huge increase from how the digital advertising space was valued just four years ago.

Of that $160 million in online spending, 30% of it is expected to be targeted display advertising, such as retargeting and contextual targeting. Another 32.6% of the political budget will be spent on search targeting.

The only areas losing share for online spending are email, and streaming audio. Streaming video is expected to hold at 22%.

So the biggest names in politics are investing more and more into digital advertising, showing that online advertising is seen as more necessary than ever.

Are you stepping up your digital game for 2012? Digital advertising is growing across the board, and if you aren’t taking advantage of it, you need to.

Contact us today for your free digital consultation.

Email and Paid Search Garner High ROI Ratings

Posted on by Andrew

New data from digital marketing firm eConsultancy says Paid Search and Email Marketing are two of the best options for high-ROI campaigns.

The data comes from a survey of marketing professionals around the globe, where they rated their satisfaction with various marketing channels.

In the report, 70% rated email marketing as either excellent (23%) or good (47%). Also, 56% of the respondents stated that paid search campaigns offered ROI figures that were either excellent (14%) or good (44%).

This is great news for small businesses. Email and Search Targeting are easy to implement into a marketing plan and, as the data shows, offer great results.

Another place that made large strides was mobile. In this survey, 41% of marketers said mobile gave them excellent or good return on their investment. This is an increase of 23% compared with the data from 2008.

Maybe your business hasn’t implemented these marketing plans, or maybe you’ve tried and it hasn’t worked out very well. Regardless of your past situation, we guarantee we can help you with your local marketing plan.

Contact us today or leave a note in the comments to see how we can help your business.

One in Five Visits to a Mobile Website Results in a Phone Call

Posted on by Andrew

Mobile users have higher purchase intent than pretty much every other demographic. Want to know how I know that? Well I’ve seen it with our own clients, and now there’s some new numbers to back up my anecdotal evidence.

According to new data from DudaMobile and Google, one out of every five visitors to a mobile-optimized small business website results in an immediate call to that business. This is a huge number, and that number even goes up for some verticals. For example, pizzerias have a 32% click-to-call rate, and transportation has a 44% call rate! Users also clicked through to maps and directions at an average of 3.25% across all categories.

In a new whitepaper, DudaMobile says that small businesses should align their site’s content with the priorities of the mobile user. That means short text, fast load times, big, clear buttons and a call to action.

We’ve seen huge success with several of our clients who use a mobile landing page and mobile search to drive traffic to that page.

If you’re curious about setting up a mobile campaign and a mobile search campaign, contact us today.

Global Ad Spending to Rise 4.9% in 2012

Posted on by Andrew

Global ad spending is set to rise almost 5% this year to reach a total of $465.5 billion according to new numbers from research firm Strategy Analytics.

The total U.S. spending rate is set to grow 2.7%, up from .6% in 2011. Global online spending is predicted to grow the fastest, by 12.8% to $83.2 billion – meaning 18% of total ad spend.

Online ad spending is still leading the way, though growth has slowed due to the growing maturity of online spending. In 2011, Internet media revenue grew by 21.4%, but is set to only grow 10.9% in 2012.

Despite the slowdown in growth, digital advertising is set to increase its share of the global ad market from 15.9% in 2011 to 21.2% in 2014.

So what do we know from these numbers? Well, for starters, digital advertising is growing rapidly, and is eroding TV’s 40% global share of all advertising dollars. These numbers represent important trends that you must acknowledge as a small business owner. Gone are the days where creating a radio or TV ad was enough; now, you need to be invested in social marketing, banner advertising, search optimization and have a killer website.

So who is going to help you wade through these treacherous waters? Well, that’s why we’re here. We’ve created hundreds of digital marketing campaigns, and we’ve successfully increased sales and revenue for all our clients.

If you have any other questions about what we do or ways we can help out your business, let us know in the comments or contact us on our website.

3 Marketing Trends You Need to Implement

Posted on by Andrew

A lot of business missed the boat on a few marketing trends over the last few years. Some missed out on websites, some on email marketing and others on mobile. Your business may have missed out on some or all of these trends, but I’m here to make sure you don’t miss out on these next three!


1. Mobile
Mobile is huge these days. Mobile search has already been exploding and mobile shopping is expected to increase substantially in the next few years.

2. Data
You need data to understand exactly why you’re doing something, and how you can make it better. The old model of creating a radio or TV commercial is gone. Now we have the ability to track, alter and optimize every ad campaign.

3. Branding
Your brand doesn’t just exist on your website anymore. You are on social places such as Twitter, Facebook, Digg, YouTube, etc. Your brand is more “out there” than ever, and your customers have more avenues than ever to contact you — you just need to give them reason to.

It’s a unique time to be a small business. Never before have you had the power to reach so many customers as easily as you can today. The world of digital marketing offers countless ways to interact with your customers, and using as many of them as possible can help bring you new business and more brand exposure.

If you are curious about any of these methods such as SMS targeting, search marketing, retargeting, behavioral targeting, mobile targeting and more, contact us today. We’ll help you wade through the field of digital marketing and advertising.