New research by Forrester claims that social marketing will become more strategic and planned in 2010 with companies taking tools such as Facebook and Twitter more seriously. As reported by Media Post News, the new research contains a list of social computing prediction for 2010 and suggests that companies who are taking this media seriously will create social councils - cross-functional teams aimed at sharing ideas about social media - and allocate budgets and planned structures for these groups.

It also suggests that an increasing number of companies will adopt 'listening platforms' to monitor social media, that Twitter will become more profitable or get acquired and also Facebook will take a more proactive approach to protecting members' privacy in the light of increasing demands from users.

In another report - the 2010 Social Media Marketing Benchmark Report from MarketingSherpa - the No. 1 objective targeted and measured by marketers was said to be an increase in website traffic, followed by an increase in lead generation, increase sales revenue, improved search engine ranking and improved brand or product reputation.

Labels: research, social networks

New research prepared by Google AdWords specialists, Web Search Workshop, estimate that up to 20% of all AdWords advertising spend is wasted, due to poor campaign planning and management. This provides Google with extra income that gives little benefit to the advertiser and reflects some basic principles of effective AdWords campaigns that are not being followed by some companies.

Labels: google adwords, research

New research by US company Round2 Communications says that 72% of advertising companies will increase their online marketing spending in 2010. A summary of the results have been published by Media Daily News and explain this trend towards online spend because 33.9% of respondents said that ROI (Return on Investment) for new media is "somewhat" better than traditional advertising, and 28.2% said new media's ROI is "significantly" better.

Labels: internet advertising, research

Media Post has reported on new research in the US by eMarketer that shows online advertising declining by 4.6% in 2009 - the first drop since 2002 - although this is expected to grow again in 2010. The two areas that saw growth in 2009, however, were search and video advertising.

The eMarketer report identified a move towards 'non-advertising' marketing, such as social media and building websites or brand 'microsites'. This means that spend is being channeled into other areas not previously tracked by the research, so that the annual decline in figures may be misleading. The use of social media is also having an impact on how online advertising is being used and how communication channels are changing.

The search marketing sector is shown to be taking a larger slice of the online budget, as it is in Australia as well. The US figures show spend under $11 billion in 2009 growing to nearly $16 billion in 2014. This will make the sector about three times as big as banner or video campaigns. However, although search advertising will see the largest annual increases through to 2013, according to this research, by 2014 it is expected that more new dollars will flow into video advertising than into search.

This expected growth in spending on video ads will far outpace any other online format, running between 34% and 45% from 2009 through 2014 and is the result of video ads moving to a position as the main form of brand advertising online. By 2014, it is estimated that US advertisers will be spending 46.5% of the online advertising market on search and 38.7% on a mix of banner, video and rich media display ads.

Labels: internet advertising, research

With much talk recently around the future of newspapers and online content, and whether these should now starting charging users for access, Media Week has reported on some new research by Forrester in the US which found that while a minority of consumers is willing to pay for online content, not all pay models are considered equal.

Using a mail survey of just over 4,700 consumers, the responses showed that 80% said they wouldn't pay for access to online content if the publisher erects a pay wall. Then 8% of respondents said they preferred an online subscription, with the same percentage also preferring a multichannel subscription. Only 3% said they would prefer to use micropayments, which is one of the options being considered by publishers.

These results are therefore not good reading for publishers and suggest that they should keep offering free, ad-supported products to the vast majority of users who won't otherwise pay for the content, while giving those who will pay a choice of payment methods for access to premium products.

How people would want to access content online also varied, with 37% favouring a website, while smaller percentages preferred portable devices like mobile phones (14%), laptops and netbooks (11%). Another 10% favoured getting their former print publication via an emailed PDF and only 3% favored e-readers like the Kindle, although this reflects the early reach and acceptance of this new technology. Notably, 44% said they preferred none of those options!

When it comes to predicting who will pay for online content, the study found that people who are college-educated, 'technology optimists' and higher earners are more likely to pay for online newspapers than those who are unwilling to pay. Age was barely a factor in willingness to pay, however, but this did become a bigger factor amongst those who are willing to pay for online magazines.

Labels: internet business, research

MediaWeek reports on a new survey from third-party ad server Eyeblaster, which suggests that online video ads placed on social networking and gaming sites don’t have the same success in terms of 'user engagement' compared to content sites and email.

The company examined data from thousands of campaigns that had been run for brands over the past year and specifically focused on two key metrics - Dwell Rate (which measures the proportion of ad impressions that resulted in a user engaging with an ad, such as mousing over it or clicking on it) and Dwell Time (which measure the amount of time users spend engaged with a particular ad).

The results showed that overall, online video increased both Dwell Rate and Dwell Time when compared to other forms of online advertising, but also that online video tends to perform better when adjacent to content or email than in social media and gaming environments. This probably reflects the reason for the different types of site usage in the first place, although video sharing is becoming a more important component of these type of sites.

Eyeblaster found that people tended to browse social networks really quickly and so auto start video ads often didn't have a chance to actually start, plus people have few opportunities to stop and linger like they do on content sites due to the different browsing habits on the social networking or gaming sites.

Labels: internet advertising, research

The latest quarterly figures on Internet advertising in Australia have just been released by IAB Australia and they show that the market has recorded continued growth during the tough economic period. The total spend for the latest quarterly period, ending 30th September, reached $466 million, the highest total recorded to date.

The new Online Advertising Expenditure Report (OAER) has been compiled for the IAB by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as usual, using available data or estimates of advertising spend in the period covered. Although the latest quarterly figures have reached new highs, the year-on-year growth against the same period in 2008 was only up by 3%.

The Search and Directories sector, which is dominated by Google AdWords, is continuing to show healthy growth, despite actual figures from Google being unavailable, so the trend is largely based on market estimates. In total, this sector accounted for 51% of the total online advertising market in Q3 of 2009, and an increase of 12% on the same period a year ago. General Display accounted for 26% of the market and Classifieds 23%, although both of these sectors showed a decline in value compared to the same period a year ago, down 3.8% and 5% respectively.

For the first time, the latest report also captured the online advertising expenditure within the General Display category for the specific media of video, email, CPM (cost per thousand, often referred to as ‘brand’) as well as direct response (often referred to as ‘performance’) advertising. Online video advertising which represented 4% of the General Display category, is on par with figures seen in the US and UK, and is expected to increase sharply in future quarters. Email advertising was 6.5% of General Display whilst CPM advertising (mostly banner advertising) made up 75% of the category, with only 22% reported for response and 3% for a hybrid classification that combines these two forms of advertising.

Overall the online advertising industry is continuing to show healthy growth compared to recent declines of other advertising markets in Australia, so that the online share of the total market of the $13 billion Australian advertising industry continues to grow. However, this continued growth, although slowing against the previous year, continues to come from search advertising sector and particularly Google AdWords in Australia, as more and more companies enter this market to promote their businesses through targeted search marketing.

A spokesman for IAB Australia said that "With continued industry developments in online audience measurement, research demonstrating the effectiveness of online advertising in influencing consumers' purchasing decisions and behaviours, and maturing self-regulatory standards and best practice guidelines, online is now a trusted, core and essential component of effective marketing communications."

Labels: online advertising, research

A report by MediaPost claims that the highest-priced keyword in the US during September was $99.44 per click on Google. This data comes from the AdGooroo Search Engine Advertising Update, which has begun to track the click costs for search terms for the first time. According to their analysis, the term 'mesothelioma' was the highest-selling keyword, which was also sold on Yahoo! for $60.68 per click to get the top ranking position. The search term 'auto insurance comparison' was the highest-cost phrase on the Bing search engine, at $55.20 per click.

Of course, the search engines themselves will know this data but keep the information confidential, and it's not clear how the figures revealed by AdGooroo are obtained, other than by estimates and market feedback. It seems that the term 'mesothelioma' has become highly expensive due to legal firms pursuing new lawsuits related to the asbestos-causing lung cancer.

The report also says that the search engines served up on average between five and six ads per keyword during September. In the US market, Google moved to 5.45 adverts in September 2009, up from 3.06 a year before. Yahoo! dropped to 5.35 from 7.53 and Bing also saw a decrease to 3.10, from 5.12.

Labels: ppc, research

MediaWeek in the US has reported on the latest research data from Nielsen that shows mobile Internet usage growing exponentially, largely due to the increasing number of 'smartphones' such as the iPhone. However, despite the high level of expectations for this sector, the report says that only a quarter of wireless subscribers logged onto the web via their mobile devices in July.

The Nielsen research says there were 56.9 million mobile web users in the US by July 2009 - up 34% year on year. However, an earlier Nielsen report at the start of 2009 said there are almost 225 million total mobile subscribers in the US, which means that mobile Internet penetration is about 25% of the market and still trailing PC-based web usage.

The demographic profile of the mobile Internet sector shows that teens and seniors are pushing the growth in usage as they enter the market. The article says that Nielsen's data showed a 45% surge in usage amongst teens 13-17, as well as a 67% spike amongst users aged 65 and older. Males still dominate the sector with 53% of the market but the female audience rose by 43% in July, compared to a 26% growth spike amongst men.

Labels: mobile search, research

A report by Reuters says that around one of every five Internet display ads in the United States is now being viewed on a social networking website, such as MySpace and Facebook. The data comes from a new survey by comScore which demonstrates the increasing importance of social media sites and the broadening acceptance of such sites by brand advertisers, as well as the challenge now being faced by the more traditional online publishers, such as Yahoo and AOL.

The new report says that social media sites represented just over 21% of U.S. Internet display ads in July, with MySpace and Facebook accounting for more than 80% of those ads. However, the question will remain as to whether these sites can be used as effectively for advertising, due to the nature of their usage. Also, because the content on social media sites is created by users, some have questioned the willingness of marketers to place their brands alongside that content and the potential risks that could bring.

Labels: internet advertising, research, social networks

MediaWeek reports on new research from Dynamic Logic that claims to show that the most effective display ads on the web are those that are integrated within a web page's content, rather than larger, dominating adverts, in terms of driving traditional brand metrics such as awareness and purchase intent.

Dynamic Logic analysed 2,390 display campaigns over 3 years and found that half banners (234 x 60 units) and rectangles (180 x 150 units) proved to be more effective than larger, pricier placements such as leaderboards and skyscrapers. However, these findings conflict with the current trend among web publishers and advertisers, who are pushing toward larger, more interruptive online advertising as a way to funnel brand dollars away from TV.

The survey also found that creative quality and level of sophistication are also key, so that among the 2,000-plus campaigns analyzed, rich media ads that featured video excelled in most branding categories, including awareness, brand favourability and purchase intent. Meanwhile, more basic Flash ads - seen as the most common form of display advertising - consistently achieved the lowest scores.

Labels: online advertising, research

New figures published by US research agency, comScore, show that Google holds greater loyalty amongst its users compared to Yahoo! and Microsoft. As reported by Reuters, this new data illustrates that Google not only has a very strong market share, but also retains searchers for longer with more searches conducted each month.

The research also shows that Yahoo! and Microsoft have a combined search penetration of 73% in the US, which isn't too far behind Google's level of 84%. However, Google searchers conduct an average of 54.5 searches a month, which is about double the number of searches recorded by users of Yahoo! and Microsoft combined - these users search on average 26.9 times a month, according to the comScore report.

In terms of loyalty, the research found that Google searchers make nearly 70% of their searches on Google sites whereas people who use Yahoo! and Microsoft sites combined search there about 33% of the time and also use Google heavily. This gives the newly combined force of Yahoo! and Microsoft a challenging target to reach, which is likely to an even wider gap in Australia and other countries where Google dominates even more than in the US.

Labels: research, search engines

The latest Internet advertising figures published by IAB Australia show continued growth in the online advertising market which is bucking the general advertising market trends. The latest figures for the April-June quarter and the past financial year show an 18.5% year-on-year growth for the 12 months to the end of June and a 9.8% increase for the quarter.

The Online Advertising Expenditure Report (OAER) is published by IAB Australia using data compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The new figures show that online advertising expenditure in Australia for the year ending June 30 2009 exceeded $1.8 billion and totalled $453 million for second-quarter 2009. This means that Internet advertising is still expected to hit the $2 billion spend level for this year.

In the past financial year, Search and Directories accounted for 49% of the total advertising expenditure and saw a growth of 25% year-on-year. General Display Advertising accounted for a 27% share of the market and grew by 19.6% and Classifieds held a 24% share and grew by just 6% over the previous year.

For the second quarter of 2009, the Search and Directories category increased by 19% on the same period last year, with General Display increasing by 10% and Classifieds saw a decrease of 5.9%. The IAB commented on the report that these latest figures demonstrated the continued confidence in the market for online advertising at a time when the economic situation is challenging.

Not surprisingly, search advertising continues to do well and is driving the growth in the industry due to its targeted and measurable nature, although the bulk of the figures in this sector remain estimated since Google does not reveal these to the IAB researchers. Display advertising is also showing continued support as a growing medium as Internet usage continues to develop. Not surprisingly, however, is the decline in online classified spend which has been impacted by the declines in the employment, real estate and automotive markets.

Labels: internet advertising, research

New research published in the US has been reported in AdWeek and demonstrates how the Internet is still seen as a powerful direct marketing tool where conversions are far more important than brand building. The survey of top marketers was carried out by Forbes.com and, when asked what measures they used to gauge success, just 31% of respondents said brand building topped the list, and 14% said reach. However, direct marketing metrics scored highly, with around 82% identifying conversions as the leading gauge, 55% said registrations and 51% said clicks.

These attitudes reflected well for search and e-mail marketing compared to display ads and video as the research shows that SEO, pay-per-click ads and e-mail were identified as the most effective means of generating conversions, whereas video and display ads were at the bottom. The article says that the whole area of metrics - which the Internet excels in - should still embrace more traditional brand-based advertising by including more brand-health measures and embracing frequency online, which can drive up perceived costs in a cost-per-impression model.

The research showed that the most common digital marketing approaches were the more 'traditional' e-mail and search optimisation campaigns - used by 74% of respondents - in contrast to the 38% that were using cost per thousand (CPM) campaigns such as display advertising, or the 28% saying they used video ads.

85% of respondents said they were satisfied with their search engine optimisation efforts and 78% were positive about the results from search advertising. Impression-based advertising scored lower, with a 63% satisfaction level and just over 50% were pleased with ad networks, which scored lowest. In terms of future plans, viral marketing, SEO and behavioral targeting were the tactics most frequently identified for budget increases in the next six months.

Labels: internet advertising, research

The latest quarterly report from IAB Australia shows that the national online advertising market continues to show a good rate of growth, with a year-on-year increase of 14%. Using data compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), the online advertising expenditure in Australia for the first quarter of 2009 came to $439.5 million, the largest first quarter figure recorded so far.

The online advertising industry is expected to be impacted by the effects of the global financial crisis and the lowering of consumer and business confidence. The first quarter figures for 2009 were down 5% against the last quarter of 2008, yet this was anticipated due to the decline in activity that's usually seen after the pre-Christmas period. Despite this, the online advertising sector continues to maintain a strong year-on-year growth each quarter, unlike most other advertising media that are reporting negative year-on-year revenues.

The continued growth in this sector has been largely driven by the Search and Directories sector where the further migration of revenues into this sector saw it push past 50% of the total online advertising revenue for the first quarter. General Display advertising accounted for 24.9% of the total advertising expenditure for the first quarter, with a small decrease from the previous quarter as expected due to the trend of previous years. The Classifieds sector comprised 23.9% of the overall market with the impact of the economic slowdown having the greatest impact here, as the sector showed the first decrease in year-on-year expenditure since record keeping commenced in 2002.

Labels: internet advertising, research

An online survey conducted by AdWeek with users of the social networking site LinkedIn assessed how the current economic situation may impact the role of online marketing. Over 4,300 respondents too part in the survey at the end of March and when asked "How will the economic downturn most affect advertising?", 22% said 'there will be less advertising'. Another 8% said 'advertisers will play it safe' but the majority responded to say that the main effect would be a form of evolution that makes advertising more adaptive to changing conditions.

Within this group, 30% of respondents considered that the economy would lead to "better targeted ads to improve ROI," 23% anticipated that the "shift to online would accelerate" and 15% think "ads will follow traffic to social media." When the responses are broken down by job function, there was a notable gap between people in "marketing" and those in "sales": with the latter being much more likely than the former to choose "better targeted ads to improve ROI" (36% vs. 23%) as the recession's pre-eminent effect on advertising.

A full report on the survey and the breakdown of the results by different categories can be seen on LinkedIn (requires user login).

Labels: online advertising, research

Media Post comments on a new report from the the US by Borrell Associate that forecasts a tripling of spend by small and medium-sized businesses over the next 5 years due to local companies pouring more money into developing their websites and other online promotional activity.

The report says that whereas interactive ad spending across segments such as display, search and email will slow their pace of growth (by only 10% in the next five years to $7.5 billion), the level of non-ad spending on things like websites or online promotions and public relations will increase from 7.9% to 18.1% of interactive marketing budgets from 2008 to 2013.

On the advertising side, Borrell estimates that paid search will continue to be a key part of SMB spending while banner ads will give way to video. Meanwhile, standard format advertising, which currently accounts for 47% of all SMB interactive spending, will make up less than 19% by the end of 2013.

Labels: online advertising, research

According to new research by Nielsen, social networking has now overtaken e-mail as the most popular Internet activity. As reported by AdWeek, the active reach measure used by Nielsen's online panels shows that "member communities" now exceed e-mail participation by 67% to 65%. What's more, the reach of social networking and blogging venues is growing at twice the rate of other large drivers of Internet use such as portals, e-mail and search.

The Nielsen survey predicts that this shift to social activity online would have profound effects on marketers and publishers. For publishers, social networks are eating into time spent with other online activities and for advertisers, the rapid growth of this sector represents mostly unfulfilled promise for a deeper connection with consumers who are more difficult to reach in social environments.

The use of social media includes communication methods that are taking traffic away from the traditional portals and email hubs. Nielsen found that two-thirds of the world's Internet users visited a social networking site in 2008 and social media now accounts for almost 10% of Internet time. Facebook continues to lead the market worldwide, with monthly visits by three out of 10 Internet users in nine global markets monitored by Nielsen. This growth in social media is not confined to the U.S. as the report charts comparable or higher growth for Australia, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Labels: research, social networks

The ClickZ website summarises a new report from The Kelsey Group that forecasts a strong growth in the US mobile advertising sector as mobile handsets continue to develop and be used more widely and for more applications, particularly with the advent of smartphones such as the iPhone.

The estimates show mobile advertising revenues growing from $160m in 2008 to $3.1bn in 2013, which is a compound annual growth rate of 81.2%. This ad spend is divided in three categories, with 2008 figures showing $21m on display advertising, $39m on search, and $100m on SMS campaigns. By 2013 the report forecasts a change in this mix, with the majority of the spend being dedicated to search - projected as $567m to be spent on mobile display ads, $2.3bn on search, and $270m in SMS.

There is a slowdown in mobile ad expenditures at the moment due to the global economic crisis and the experimental nature of much f the current advertising, but spend is expected to rise quickly after 2010 with search seen as the more reliable and measurable focus for advertising as existing web users transfer more of their time onto mobile activity, particularly with local search advertising seen as a strong area for growth.

The adoption of mobile web usage and ability for advertisers to reach consumers on a mobile device is becoming easier through the increase of applications for the iPhone as well as other providers makes compelling content for a variety of handsets ubiquitous. Google is also making it easier for small businesses to advertise through the extension of Google AdWords to mobile.

Labels: mobile search, research

The MediaPost blog reports on some new research of more than 3,000 marketing executives in the US which asked them about their online advertising priorities for 2009. Just over 80% selected e-mail as a strong advertising performer, compared to 57% who chose search as the second leading performer. Amongst the other categories, 42% chose online display advertising as a strong performer, 23% selected social media and 9% chose mobile marketing.

In terms of advertising budgets for 2009, 58% expected to increase their spend on email marketing campaigns and 54% said the same for search marketing. 44% claimed to be targeting more spend in social media, whereas 35% would be cutting back on offline media and 22% would be reducing their spend on display advertising on the web.

Labels: online advertising, research

The new figures for Internet advertising in Australia have been posted by the Internet Advertising Bureau, using data compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers from a sample of over 1,000 website properties in the country.

This latest data shows that overall growth in this advertising sector for the past year was up by 27% to the forecasted figure of $1.7 billion - a growth of $364m on the 2007 figure of $1.34 billion. The market is now expected to break the $2 billion barrier by the end of this year, although growth rates are slowing and the current economic situation may hinder this growth (or potentially increase it as more spend in channelled online and away from other media).

The Search and Directories category remains the main growth area, although since Google refuses to reveal their numbers, the figures remain a significant estimate. However, year on year this category grew by 30% to $807m. In the fourth quarter of 2008, the sector grew by 27% compared to the same period in 2007, to $224m. It also grew by 6% over the third quarter in 2008, which is the critical figure as the 'credit crunch' began to bite during this period.

Of the other 2 monitored categories, Display Advertising grew by 27% in 2008 to $465m and by 24% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, to $130m. Compared to the third quarter in 2008, this marked a 4% growth in advertising spend. Finally, the Classifieds sector grew by 23% for the year, up to $439m, and by 10% year-on-year for the quarter, to $108m. However, compared to the third quarter, this sector shows a drop of 5% - the first ever and possible signs of the slowdown affecting online advertising.

The detailed summary of these figures can be downloaded as a PDF report from the IAB website.

Labels: internet advertising, research

A report by Media Post covers some recent research in the US which indicates that 39% of consumers  are more likely to click on a web advert if it is personalised, while that number rises to 58% among those who shop online at least several times a month. The survey also says that the bigger the spender, the greater the interest in personalised ads, indicating that more regular and familiar online shoppers respond better to this form of advertising.

The results of the survey, conducted by ChoiceStream, showed that 70% of consumers admit that their purchase decisions are at least sometimes influenced by having seen an advert for an item, as other recent surveys have also suggested, and a smaller percentage of consumers admit that they are influenced by brand advertising as well, with 39% admitting that they are more likely to buy from companies that they have seen advertised elsewhere.

In terms of the personalisation aspect, 60% of shoppers surveyed were aware that retailers use information about their online shopping behaviour to target advertising to them, and 78% of consumers are interested in receiving personalized content.

More results from the research can be found in the article, plus a link to download the full survey in PDF format.

Labels: online advertising, research

Another new piece of research on the role of display advertising has indicated that it has a significant impact on search activity. The survey by US company Specific Media tracked over 60 advertising campaigns to take averages that demonstrated a direct correlation between display advertising and search. It found that consumers exposed to display advertising were more likely to search for brand terms (such as an automotive manufacturer), and segment terms (such as a type of vehicle), than unexposed consumers.

There's perhaps no great surprise there, as brand awareness will drive user behaviour in many cases, and the study shows that display advertising has a direct impact on both paid and organic searches and clicks. However, it's another piece of research that supports the role of an integrated marketing campaign, both online and offline, although the value of the additional traffic based on the extra spend would need to be assessed by each advertiser.

Labels: research, search behaviour

A recent survey published by Microsoft's adCenter service in the US claims that small businesses who have built an online presence are failing to invest in search marketing. Apparently 73% of small business owners would rather do their tax returns than start a search marketing plan!

Of course, Microsoft is trying to promote their adCenter PPC service and therefore the survey results are not entirely surprising with an underlying movtive! The study of 400 small businesses in the US revealed that 59% of those with websites don’t currently use paid search marketing, and of those, 90% have never even attempted it.

The Microsoft press release for this survey says that 'despite the lack of investment in paid search marketing, the weakening economy and increased competition, nearly nine in 10 (86 percent) small-business owners surveyed felt that they could be missing opportunities to grow their business, while three in four believed prospective customers could be searching online for the type of service their business offers'. Of those companies that do use PPC advertising, most are very satisfied, as 72% reported an increase in sales enquiries and 68% consider their paid search marketing efforts successful.

Labels: microsoft, ppc, research

A story by AdWeek reports on some latest research from the US into local business search behaviour. The survey by Knowledge Networks says that 77% of Americans turn to the print Yellow Pages and 48% said this is the source they use most often. Search engines were the runner-up, with 49% saying they use them to seek out a business or service, including 21% who use this source most often.

The only other resources to register in double digits in the survey were Internet Yellow Pages (36% / 13% most often), free or fee-based 411 services (30%, 8% most often) and newspapers (19%, 2% most often). However, for all the talk about people roaming the streets with mobile devices in hand as they seek stores and restaurants, just 5% of respondents included "mobile search" among their sources, including 1% who said it's the source they use most often.

Labels: local search, research

The rapid growth of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace over the past few years has been a significant online success story and one that advertisers have been looking at closely as a potential new channel. However, two new research studies have placed some doubt on the role that these sites have for marketers.

MediaWeek has published a story reflecting this growth in web traffic but indicating how advertising on these sites has been very poor. It reports that over half the US now actively uses social networking sites, but so far advertising on these properties has been very limited. Sites like Facebook and MySpace are seen to significantly under perform when compared to overall online advertising, according to research firm IDC. Just 57% of social network users say that they clicked on an advert over the past year, compared to 79% of all web users.

MediaPost also reports that, possibly related to this trend, marketing departments are certainly intrigued by the possibilities of social networking sites but are still thinking twice about using them. Research commissioned in the US shows that 27% of senior marketing executives identified social networking and word-of-mouth as the tools they would most like to introduce to their marketing mix to compensate for anticipated budget cuts, but 55% also indicated a low current interest in actually incorporating the networking sites into their plans.

These results probably reflect the uncertainty of using a new form of media without seeing proof of the results that could be achieved. In addition, the social networking sites still need to develop an advertising model that will be appealing to advertisers and not antagonise users who may be concerned about the privacy issues of targeted advertising.

Labels: research, social networks

The Interactive Advertising Bureau in Australia has just published the latest quarterly report on Internet advertising spend which shows further growth in the market, despite the impending economic slowdown. The third quarter of 2008 recorded the highest revenues yet, at $450m. Advertisers spent over $100m more in Q3 2008 than they did in the same period in 2007, which was a year-on-year growth of almost 30%.

This new IAB report has again been compiled by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, based on information from advertisers and leading Internet properties in Australia, although Google continues to withhold their data on search advertising. Despite that, the estimates for the quarter show that the Search & Directories category continues to lead market growth, with a 33% year-on-year growth and a 13% growth on the previous quarter in 2008, accounting for $212m of the total Q3 revenue. General Display grew 29% year-on-year and 10% on the previous quarter, reaching $125.5m for the quarter, whilst the Classifieds category grew by 25% year-on-year and 2% from Q2 to total $113.75m.

Labels: internet advertising, research

Two recent articles on blogs provide contrasting arguments on the way that these tools can be used as an effective business tool. The first articles from Wired Magazine claims that blogs have now become a dated medium, outclassed by the more 'trendy' Web 2.0 sites like Facebook, Flickr and the latest 'hot site', Twitter. The argument is that the 'blogspace' is now so crowded and overused - particularly by large corporates - that it's almost impossible to get heard and therefore time could be better spent participating and developing content on the newer social multimedia sites.

In contrast, a report on the ClickZ website covers the results of some new research which has found that blogs can have more impact on purchase decisions than social networks, because blogs create the type of online conversation and 'trusted' resource that influences the purchase decision. The survey found that consumers were influenced by blogs more than social networks when making a purchase decision, mostly because bloggers establish themselves as an authority on a topic, particularly in niche areas, and create a relationship with the consumer.

Of course both of these arguments are centred around differing objectives for an individual or business and although there are clearly elements of truth in both viewpoints, there also has to be a clear strategy in developing either process, which can also work better in some markets compared to others.

Labels: blog marketing, research, social networks

Media Week has just published the results of some new research that confirms previous figures that show search is the second-most popular activity on the Internet after email. Data compiled by Pew in the US show that, in terms of online behaviour, the use of search engines has become a primary activity, with 49% conducting web searches every day, coming second to email which 60% of users access every day.

These figures have grown significantly since 2002, when just a third of users searched every day and the percentage of 'at-least-once-a-day searchers' soared by 69% over the past six years. During the same period, the percentage of users checking email every day climbed just 8 points, from 52% to 60%. Other daily activities were visiting news sites (39%) and weather sites (30%). However, despite the huge numbers of users joining the social networking trend, the Pew research showed that only 13% of web users log onto those sites every day.

The report identifies three core reasons for search’s prominence in average users’ lives: accessibility, speed and relevance. Search is now more prevalent on content websites and with a greater mass of information available online, as well as the prominence of Google, search has become more necessary and available to users, who also have better awareness and familiarity with the web than 6 years ago. In addition, with around 55% of Americans using a broadband connection to access the Web, search has become a quicker starting point to find information, products or services online.

Labels: research, search behaviour

The latest quarterly figures from the Interactive Advertising Bureau in Australia has been published, showing that the rate of growth in the online advertising sector has slowed again, although the overall increase in spend continues to outpace all other forms of media.

The data has again been compiled by Pricewaterhouse Coopers and shows that spending on Internet advertising in Australia increased by 27% year on year to the end of June, breaking the $1.5 billion mark. Previous annual growth rates were reported around the 54% mark but as the underlying base of spend has grown, the annual rate of increase was expected to fall back. Threats of a slowing economy may also be having an effect on company spending.

Search advertising saw the biggest increase over the past 12 months, up 34%, compared to a 23% growth in the spending on general display / banner advertising. It therefore remains clear that many companies are still moving advertising spend to the online market and that search advertising, such as Google AdWords, remains a popular and cost-effective solution for many Internet businesses.

Labels: internet advertising, research

Google have introduced a new tool that helps to extend the data available from Google Trends, whereby users can track and compare the search activity for a number of search terms over time. The new tool, called Insights for Search, is designed primarily for advertisers and provides more information for marketers to understand search behaviour, as well as including some new features like a world 'heat map' to graphically display search volume and regional interest.

Like Google Trends, the new tool enables users to enter a search term and view the search volume patterns over time, back as far as 2004. It also shows top related and rising searches and there's the option to compare search volume trends across multiple search terms, different categories, geographic regions, or specific time ranges. A Google account is required to log in and view the numbers from the graph and to download the data into a spreadsheet.

Labels: google, research

An article from Information Week reports on research from the US that forecasts major changes in the use of media and telecommunications over the next decade due to the growth of wireless social networking. In preparation for this, companies will need to plan and adapt for this change to take advantage of the market.

The widespread adoption of mobile Internet devices - such as the iPhone - will create a new generation of wireless social networking businesses and business models beginning in 2009, according to the research by iSuppli. It is forecast that nearly 7 billion wireless accounts will exist by 2020, with many people holding two or more accounts, and these wireless devices will facilitate primary communication, service, and content delivery for most users.

Labels: research, social networks, wireless Internet

A recent report by Business Week illustrates ways that the mobile web - Internet access through mobile phones - is starting the change the way that people go online and use websites.

Dubbed 'the weekend web', there is now a distinct trend (at least in the US) where people are spending more time online via wireless devices, as well as tending to use a different set of sites than during the week. Google reports that most mobile traffic to their search site comes at the weekend with mobile browsing increasing by 89% in the past year and mobile page views reported to have increased by 127%. The increase is attributed to a wider availability of one price-full access data plans plus the increasing sophistication of handheld devices such as the new Apple iPhone.

The article includes research from M:Metrics, who are tracking the use of mobile web access and the popularity of different types of website. The weekends see a lot of mobile web activity around classified advertising sites, like Craigslist and eBay, as well as travel/mapping sites, sport and weather sites.

As the use of mobiles to access the web increases, market research company Nielsen have launched a new online audience-profiling tool for this sector, called Mobile @Plan. A report by Multichannel News describes how this new service will provide marketers and publishers with lifestyle and demographic information on the leading mobile web sites, enabling advertisiers to efficiently target their intended audience through mobile phones.

The service gives marketers valuable audience data for more than 200 mobile websites by profiling their users according to more than a thousand points of lifestyle information, including demographics, leisure activities, life events, electronics ownership, media use and brand-level purchase activity on travel, auto, finance, food and beverage, real estate, pets and more.

Labels: mobile search, research

The Yahoo! Search Marketing blog comments on some of the recent results that emerged from research conducted by JupiterResearch for iProspect in the US (which we reported on last month). The 2 tables shown in the blog entry illustrate how search behaviour has changed over the past 6 years with users apparently becoming more impatient.

For example, in answer to the question of how many results users tend to look at before clicking on a link, 16% in 2002 said 'just a few' whereas in 2008 that figure had increased to 27%. The same figures for those scanning the whole of the first page has also changed from 32% six years ago to 41% this year. These figures also imply that 68% of searchers will tend to click on one or more results within the first page in 2008, compared to 48% in 2002.

A second question, which asked searchers at which point they revised their search query or tried another search engines if they didn't find what they were looking for, shows that in 2002 14% would do this after reviewing just a few results, compared to 23% this year. Those who revised their search after reviewing the first page of results rose from 14% in 2002 to 26% in 2008.

These results do show an interesting trend which may indicate the impatience of searchers, or an improved level of searching skill using more key terms to find a specific result. It can also indicate the improved relevancy of results (and probably more people now using Google) as well as the higher number of optimised sites appearing in the search results and, through highlighted content, appearing to give users the results they are looking for.

Of course the Yahoo! article encourages website owners to target their paid search advertising to create relevant rankings for users and to get first page positions to attract the majority of the search traffic. It also recommends focusing optimisation efforts on all aspects of the 'blended' search results that are now being served up - such as news stories, video, images and local business listings - to ensure that all opportunities are being taken for the website to put itself infront of relevant searchers.

Labels: research, search behaviour

Google has said that the company is witnessing a "significant inflow" of advertising spend from companies who are moving their budgets from mainstream 'above the line' media into more targeted and measurable forms of marketing like PPC advertising.

As reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, there are mixed reports about how the threat of a recession is affecting companies, but this trend does seem to indicate concerns from companies who want to make the most of their advertising spend when budgets are being tightened, either in response or anticipation of a market downturn. In light of this trend, the reported 30% growth in search advertising in Australia for the March quarter could be significantly underestimated.

At the same time as this continued growth in Internet advertising continues, another article in the SMH claims that, dollar for dollar, the Internet accounts for more carbon emissions than any other form of advertising. A study by consultancy P3 estimated the environmental cost of different forms of advertising and claimed that Internet advertising is the equivalent of junk mail, with high levels of water generated by large numbers of page impressions.

Perhaps this is good publicity for the green auditing division of the company publishing the research but it also raises many questions about the methodology of the research.

Labels: internet advertising, ppc, research

The latest quarterly figures for online advertising spend in Australia have been released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, using data collected by Pricewaterhouse-Coopers. These show that online display advertising has lost further market share in this sector to classified and search advertising, although the sector as a whole continues to show good growth.

The figures just published for the quarter to March show that the total online advertising market grew by over 30% on the same period last year, up $90.5m to $384.5m. Display advertising's share of this spend fell from 25.5% to 24.6% year-on-year, whereas classifieds grew from 27% to 27.7% and search rose from 47.4% to 47.7% - although this latter sector is still dominated by Google who refuse to reveal actual figures, so this data is based on PwC's estimate.

However, the change in sector share between the March quarter and the previous quarter to the end of December shows that display advertising lost 3 share points while classifieds rose 1.8 points and search by 1.2 share points. This may be indicating the start of a slowdown in online advertising due to possible concerns in an economic slowdown, although overall the market is still growing at a much healthier rate than any other advertising sector.

Labels: australia, internet advertising, research