Thursday, June 07, 2007
Keyword Prices Up, Value Down
Keyword prices are rising while the return is going down, according to the DoubleClick Performics Q1 2007 Search Trend Report. So more cost and less value means that somethings gotta give if search marketers want to grow their business.
According to a survey of 50 campaigns that ran on DoubleClick, advertisers are buying more keywords (by 54 percent, are paying more for them, and saw ROI by 43 percent. So is it the platform's capabilities or poor marketing strategy? I say both.
DoubleClick says more companies are using SEM as a branding tool, a relatively expensive way to get the word out. I'm disappointed by the lack of call to action from the ads displayed -- if people are searching on a product category, should the messaging be enticing to get them to shop now?
As an example, I searched on hiking boots, and of the 8 ads that were displayed, none was a coupon or special online offer, and only one targeted me as an Oregon resident. (The 8-3 ratio of paid versus natural results is off balance -- I'd like a little more content with my meal Mr. Google.)
Despite the candor of this report, the GoogleClick merger continues to be under fire for the potential of the combined entity to violate consumer privacy. Groups the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) said that additional privacy precautions need to be implemented before the GoogleClick behemoth should be unleashed on the world.
Posted By John Gartner at 09:46 AM
Permanent Link: Keyword Prices Up, Value Down
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