Paid Search Growth Continues to Slip, | Milwaukee Internet Advertising

 Businesses in Milwaukee and around the world are looking into better ways to be found online.  Keeping your presence online requires you to sometimes add PPC or Pay per Clicks into your mix of advertising along with SEO and Social marketing.  Here is a good article from Miranda Miller, October 24, 2012 on Search Engine Watch.

Slowing growth and lower CPCs in paid search don’t bode well for companies like Google, though advertisers are seeing a higher return on their paid search investment, according to recent reports.
U.S. search spend grew by 11 percent Year over Year (YoY) while ROI improved by 26 percent, according to Adobe. They found that Google’s CPCs fell 10 percent over the last year and attribute the loss to an increased volume of less expensive mobile clicks. It’s a problem Google knows all too well; one that was a hot topic during their recent quarterly earnings call.

Rimm-Kaufman Group (RKG) puts paid search spend growth slightly higher, at 18 percent YoY, down from 32 percent in Q2. IgnitionOne was almost in line with RKG on search spend, reporting growth of 17.8 percent YoY. For their part, Covario reported that growth in paid search advertising was up 33 percent in the third quarter compared to a year earlier, and up 6 percent over Q2 2012.

In their Q3 report, Marin Software noted they are well on their way to hitting their prediction that mobile devices will account for 25 percent of all paid search clicks on Google by December this year. Average CPC in the US fell from $0.95 in Q3 2011 to $0.82 today, they reported.
Adobe expects Google’s CPC losses to turn around next quarter, explaining, “The cost per click (CPC) downward trend caused by mobile traffic appears to have bottomed out and is projected to rise in Q4 due to seasonal trends and changes to the Google Shopping model.”

Mobile vs Desktop

Nearly 21 percent of organic search visits occurred on mobile devices in Q3, up from 18 percent in Q2, according to RKG (see chart). For paid search, 16 percent of clicks and 11 percent of ad spend were mobile.
Across their client base, Marin Software found that smartphone and tablet devices accounted for 19 percent share of clicks and 14 percent share of spend.
Covario reports, “On a global platform basis, mobile advertising grew 17 percent in the third quarter when compared to Q2 2012 and 90 percent growth year-over-year when compared to Q3 ’11. The breakdown of mobile ad spend was 52 percent mobile device/smartphone spend, while 48 percent was in the growing tablet space. This is a much closer split than a year ago when smartphones made up 73 percent of the mobile spend.”
Across their base, IgnitionOne reported an increase in mobile’s share of search advertising budget, with 16.3 percent of total search spend in Q3, an increase of 14 percent over the past quarter. Tablet devices accounted for 52.2 percent of the total mobile search advertising budget for the quarter, which is a decrease compared to last quarter (60 percent).

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Disclaimer: The postings of opinions on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my clients or publishers. Jim is an experienced Internet Marketing Consultant in Milwaukee Wisconsin. His mission is to help you increase your advertising return on investment and decrease unproductive advertising expenses through proven, online marketing strategies. He works with local businesses, agencies, and Non-Profits. Feel Free to call him at (414)699-5444 to schedule a Free Consultation.