Getting Granular: The DigitalGrit Blog

Jupiter: PPC Will Kick Display's Butt by 2010 (not in those words, exactly)

ClickZ reports on a new Jupiter study claiming that within five years, advertisers will spend more on paid search than display advertising.

The category accounted for 34 percent of total online ad spending in 2004, or $4.2 billion in spending. In 2009, paid search will draw even with display advertising, with both bringing in around $6.9 billion. By 2010, paid search, including paid listings and paid inclusion, is expected to equal 40 percent of the online ad spend, or $7.5 billion....

...The pace of growth is expected to increase due to new players in the search engine space, with immediate boosts from Ask Jeeves' new paid search program and the launch of MSN AdCenter. Satagopan said both Ask Jeeves and MSN AdCenter paid listings programs will take about 12 months from to gain traction and start to significantly impact the paid search....

...Cost-per-click is expected to increase from $.39 back in 2004 to $.58 by 2010. Cost is a major concern to marketers, the study found.

Another reason for the growth -- accountability, undoubtedly. Display ads are great for branding, but if you want *measurable* results, search is the way to go. (And it isn't bad for branding either.)

And although CPC may be rising, it's still far less than print. Just yesterday I spoke with my favorite sales rep at my favorite trade mag, and I was offered three 1/8 page ads -- for $10,000. Do you know how much search engine media that would buy? And how many more high-quality conversions I'd probably see from that $10 K? Please.

As the ClickZ article wraps up:

Forty-two percent of sophisticated marketers plan to increase their search budget next year, said Satagopan, because they are achieving a positive ROI.

I don't like to flatter myself too much, but I'd like to think I'm sophisticated enough to know where my ten grand should be spent!!! (And if I wasn't, Those Who Must Approve My Budget are.)

Jupiter: PPC Will Kick Display's Butt by 2010 (not in those words, exactly)

ClickZ reports on a new Jupiter study claiming that within five years, advertisers will spend more on paid search than display advertising.

The category accounted for 34 percent of total online ad spending in 2004, or $4.2 billion in spending. In 2009, paid search will draw even with display advertising, with both bringing in around $6.9 billion. By 2010, paid search, including paid listings and paid inclusion, is expected to equal 40 percent of the online ad spend, or $7.5 billion....

...The pace of growth is expected to increase due to new players in the search engine space, with immediate boosts from Ask Jeeves' new paid search program and the launch of MSN AdCenter. Satagopan said both Ask Jeeves and MSN AdCenter paid listings programs will take about 12 months from to gain traction and start to significantly impact the paid search....

...Cost-per-click is expected to increase from $.39 back in 2004 to $.58 by 2010. Cost is a major concern to marketers, the study found.

Another reason for the growth -- accountability, undoubtedly. Display ads are great for branding, but if you want *measurable* results, search is the way to go. (And it isn't bad for branding either.)

And although CPC may be rising, it's still far less than print. Just yesterday I spoke with my favorite sales rep at my favorite trade mag, and I was offered three 1/8 page ads -- for $10,000. Do you know how much search engine media that would buy? And how many more high-quality conversions I'd probably see from that $10 K? Please.

As the ClickZ article wraps up:

Forty-two percent of sophisticated marketers plan to increase their search budget next year, said Satagopan, because they are achieving a positive ROI.

I don't like to flatter myself too much, but I'd like to think I'm sophisticated enough to know where my ten grand should be spent!!! (And if I wasn't, Those Who Must Approve My Budget are.)

Clash of the Titans: Google v. MSN in AOL deal

Has the world gone mad?  No sooner did I recover from my shock that part of AOL was being sold to Microsoft .... then Google's gotten back in the game!

In what looks like the ultimate bid for world domination from the web up, incumbent search engine Google is fighting to keep its share of the AOL audience. According to MarketingVox:

Google may bid for America Online in a move to prevent a Microsoft takeover and protect some $382 million in annual search-related revenue that Google gets as its share from AOL, its biggest partner, according to at least one analyst, writes CNET. The move would also "enable Google to keep 100 percent of (AOL's) search advertising revenues as well as gain a significant amount of content," according to Lauren Rich Fine, an analyst at Merrill Lynch.

Total madness. Of course, it's unconfirmed. And other sources seem to think that Google wouldn't be too adversely affected by the loss of AOL, but you have to assume it's gonna hurt. Losing AOL would be a pretty big hit. It's a lot of eyes -- and a lot of clicks -- to give up without a fight.

As I've said before, search is not my strongest marketing medium (what can I say? I'm the team oddball on that count). So -- a question to all you PPC marketers out there: How does this affect the playing field? How does this affect your ad buy? Would an AOL/MSN merger change your standard media balance? If you've focused primarily on Google and Yahoo! in the past, would this new player alter that?

Do comment.

(And heck, if you're in the field, you have to admit -- this is as much fun to watch as the Stanley Cup Finals!)

Clash of the Titans: Google v. MSN in AOL deal

Has the world gone mad?  No sooner did I recover from my shock that part of AOL was being sold to Microsoft .... then Google's gotten back in the game!

In what looks like the ultimate bid for world domination from the web up, incumbent search engine Google is fighting to keep its share of the AOL audience. According to MarketingVox:

Google may bid for America Online in a move to prevent a Microsoft takeover and protect some $382 million in annual search-related revenue that Google gets as its share from AOL, its biggest partner, according to at least one analyst, writes CNET. The move would also "enable Google to keep 100 percent of (AOL's) search advertising revenues as well as gain a significant amount of content," according to Lauren Rich Fine, an analyst at Merrill Lynch.

Total madness. Of course, it's unconfirmed. And other sources seem to think that Google wouldn't be too adversely affected by the loss of AOL, but you have to assume it's gonna hurt. Losing AOL would be a pretty big hit. It's a lot of eyes -- and a lot of clicks -- to give up without a fight.

As I've said before, search is not my strongest marketing medium (what can I say? I'm the team oddball on that count). So -- a question to all you PPC marketers out there: How does this affect the playing field? How does this affect your ad buy? Would an AOL/MSN merger change your standard media balance? If you've focused primarily on Google and Yahoo! in the past, would this new player alter that?

Do comment.

(And heck, if you're in the field, you have to admit -- this is as much fun to watch as the Stanley Cup Finals!)

End of Week One for Google Blog Search

So Google Blog Search was launched this week with much fanfare. Bloggers everywhere are already claiming an increased number of visits thanks to this, the first truly mainstream blog search engine.

And it is the first blog search engine poised for adoption by the masses. Let's face it: While you, me and every other marketer and blogger out there visits Technorati, PubSub and Feedster on a daily basis, your average joe's knowledge of search is limited to Google, Yahoo!, MSN and AOL. If that. So the fact that Google's now offering a blog search offers the possiblity of a vastly increased audience for blogs. Which is undoubtedly cool.

Our initial tests found that Google's search yielded many more results than competitors -- but many more splogs, too. (But, as we have faith that Google is, in earnest, continue its splog crackdown, we'll brush that aside for now.)

But we also that results tended to be a little odd. A friend's well-known marketing blog received a top ranking in a search for "marketing blogs." But a search for "marketing" on blog search yielded nothing. Go figure!

Google, we'll cut you some slack while blog search is in beta...but that was just weird. (UPDATE: this seems to have been repaired.)

So the jury's out. Folks like Jason Calcanis are jumping for joy and urging us to send thank you notes to Google, in hopes that blog search will become the second tab on the Google homepage. Debbie Weil is pleased with it's speed and simplicity, but readers question the relevancy of the results. Search Engine Roundtable rounds up a whole range of opinions from love it to hate it.

Bottom line: A major search engine offering blog search can only be good for bloggers. Yahoo! and MSN won't be far behind with their versions, and the competition will only make everyone fight to deliver the best engine first.

For bloggers - especially business bloggers, it's a win-win.

End of Week One for Google Blog Search

So Google Blog Search was launched this week with much fanfare. Bloggers everywhere are already claiming an increased number of visits thanks to this, the first truly mainstream blog search engine.

And it is the first blog search engine poised for adoption by the masses. Let's face it: While you, me and every other marketer and blogger out there visits Technorati, PubSub and Feedster on a daily basis, your average joe's knowledge of search is limited to Google, Yahoo!, MSN and AOL. If that. So the fact that Google's now offering a blog search offers the possiblity of a vastly increased audience for blogs. Which is undoubtedly cool.

Our initial tests found that Google's search yielded many more results than competitors -- but many more splogs, too. (But, as we have faith that Google is, in earnest, continue its splog crackdown, we'll brush that aside for now.)

But we also that results tended to be a little odd. A friend's well-known marketing blog received a top ranking in a search for "marketing blogs." But a search for "marketing" on blog search yielded nothing. Go figure!

Google, we'll cut you some slack while blog search is in beta...but that was just weird. (UPDATE: this seems to have been repaired.)

So the jury's out. Folks like Jason Calcanis are jumping for joy and urging us to send thank you notes to Google, in hopes that blog search will become the second tab on the Google homepage. Debbie Weil is pleased with it's speed and simplicity, but readers question the relevancy of the results. Search Engine Roundtable rounds up a whole range of opinions from love it to hate it.

Bottom line: A major search engine offering blog search can only be good for bloggers. Yahoo! and MSN won't be far behind with their versions, and the competition will only make everyone fight to deliver the best engine first.

For bloggers - especially business bloggers, it's a win-win.

I'm the Blogger of the Day!

How humbling. The DigitalGrit blogger gets her five minutes on iBLOGthere4iM, run by one of our favorite bloggers, Randy Charles Morin of the RSS Blog.

Read Randy's exclusive interview and see how many ridiculous things I've said...

I'm the Blogger of the Day!

How humbling. The DigitalGrit blogger gets her five minutes on iBLOGthere4iM, run by one of our favorite bloggers, Randy Charles Morin of the RSS Blog.

Read Randy's exclusive interview and see how many ridiculous things I've said...

Smart Take on eBay / Skype Deal: Is pay-per-call the next killer app?

I'm not sure that anyone really understands why eBay decided to acquire Skype. I know I didn't. Nor did I really think about its marketing implications.

Lucky for all of us, Canadian journalist Mark Evans has been thinking about it -- and blogging it. In a number of excellent posts since yesterday, Evans has brought up some great points:

So I listened to the Skype-eBay conference call this morning and talked to many people about the deal - and still can't quite get my head around why eBay is so willing to spend $4.1-billion on a company that had sales of $7-million last year (albeit a target of $60 million in 2005 and $200-million in 2006) and doesn't seem to have a sustainable competitive advantage. Here's my second take on how Skype fits into eBay's strategic thinking:
1. Skype is integrated into eBay as a sales tool, particularly for categories such as automobiles and B2B where eBay can score high margins and healthy profits.
2. Skype is a play in the click-to-talk market, which may or may not materialize as the Web's next killer business app. (My emphasis -ake)
3. Skype is a pure telecom investment play as it win more users and premium customers at a time ...

In a later post, Evans comments further on the pay-per-call aspect:

One more thought about the Skype-eBay deal is you'll hear a lot more about pay-per-call joining pay-per-click (AdSense, etc.) as the next killer e-commerce app based on the idea that buyers or advertisers will pay a fee if people connect to them using VOIP.

This is an interesting point. So, let's say eBay starts more aggressively courting a high-end market, and now you have more prominent eBay stores selling luxury cars, furniture, real estate, expensive electronics -- the sort of things people generally don't buy on impulse. But if those stores offer a click-to-call button -- at the vendors' expense -- surely sales would be easier to close.

Maybe it would open the door for eBay to start selling business services as well as goods. At any rate, it's a service that would appeal to the eBay business owner who can afford a customer service or full-time sales rep (or who runs their business full time and is always available) - but probably not for your next-door-neighbor who occasionally sells his old hockey and Desert Storm cards.

UPDATE: For more info, check out the investor presentation (78 slides!) on eBay's site. While it looks like they'll offer free *and* pay-per-call service, it's unclear how each will be offered.

And here's Marketing Vox's report on the acquisition.

Smart Take on eBay / Skype Deal: Is pay-per-call the next killer app?

I'm not sure that anyone really understands why eBay decided to acquire Skype. I know I didn't. Nor did I really think about its marketing implications.

Lucky for all of us, Canadian journalist Mark Evans has been thinking about it -- and blogging it. In a number of excellent posts since yesterday, Evans has brought up some great points:

So I listened to the Skype-eBay conference call this morning and talked to many people about the deal - and still can't quite get my head around why eBay is so willing to spend $4.1-billion on a company that had sales of $7-million last year (albeit a target of $60 million in 2005 and $200-million in 2006) and doesn't seem to have a sustainable competitive advantage. Here's my second take on how Skype fits into eBay's strategic thinking:
1. Skype is integrated into eBay as a sales tool, particularly for categories such as automobiles and B2B where eBay can score high margins and healthy profits.
2. Skype is a play in the click-to-talk market, which may or may not materialize as the Web's next killer business app. (My emphasis -ake)
3. Skype is a pure telecom investment play as it win more users and premium customers at a time ...

In a later post, Evans comments further on the pay-per-call aspect:

One more thought about the Skype-eBay deal is you'll hear a lot more about pay-per-call joining pay-per-click (AdSense, etc.) as the next killer e-commerce app based on the idea that buyers or advertisers will pay a fee if people connect to them using VOIP.

This is an interesting point. So, let's say eBay starts more aggressively courting a high-end market, and now you have more prominent eBay stores selling luxury cars, furniture, real estate, expensive electronics -- the sort of things people generally don't buy on impulse. But if those stores offer a click-to-call button -- at the vendors' expense -- surely sales would be easier to close.

Maybe it would open the door for eBay to start selling business services as well as goods. At any rate, it's a service that would appeal to the eBay business owner who can afford a customer service or full-time sales rep (or who runs their business full time and is always available) - but probably not for your next-door-neighbor who occasionally sells his old hockey and Desert Storm cards.

UPDATE: For more info, check out the investor presentation (78 slides!) on eBay's site. While it looks like they'll offer free *and* pay-per-call service, it's unclear how each will be offered.

And here's Marketing Vox's report on the acquisition.