Online Marketing Expenditure Still Rising Despite Difficult Economic Conditions

The biannual report of advertising expenditure created by PricewaterhouseCoopers on behalf of the Internet Advertising Bureau shows that the spending on online promotion continues to grow, with a rise of 4.2 percent in 2009 over 2008. This reaffirms the continuing trend to move use of the promotion budget from traditional promotion to online. This is inevitably encouraged by the rising domestic use of broadband and online services, expanding the possible client base.

It is no surprise that promotion expenditure is increasing in some areas and falling in others that have been more affected by the financial situation such as automotive and housing. The greatest increase in the use of on online promotion has been consumer goods brands and traditional High Street organisations that have come to realise that the online trade is becoming increasingly essential.

For any organization considering how to make the most of its online marketing budget, it still comes down to which approach to use: paid search, banner advertising, or applying search engine optimisation to enhance the natural search engine positioning.

The report shows that expenditure on display and banner adverts is falling considerably. This is offset by a change in the form of display advert being used, with greater numbers of video adverts being displayed. To some customers, these are as much of a nuisance as pop-ups have been, caused by the advert’s need to expand across the screen when the user’s cursor accidentally rolls across the advert. For smaller companies, these types of video advert have to be an expensive idea beyond their reach.

More companies are spending on paid search, with actual spending on this type of advertising reported to be increased by over 9 percent. It can be argued that it is easier to measure the results when using facilities such as Google AdWords or pay per click: after all, the cost is directly measured by the number of visits the advert receives or by the number of impressions where your organization incurs a payment for each display of the advert instead of the received click. However, there is always the possibility of being involved in a bidding war with a competitor to promote popular keywords at busy times.

applying search engine optimisation to enhance the natural search engine positioning is still a method to be considered. It can be a slow process but it is still economical and results in long-term benefits. search optimization enhances the experience for all visitors to your company’s website, be it from a search engine results page or a returning client. The impact of search optimization is aimed at an intending client who is actively looking for the products and services that your organization will supply, rather than just being aware of your organization just because he happened to see an advert.

It should be remembered that many prospective customers look on paid advertising of any sort as a necessary inconvenience but still something to be overlooked. He will prefer to use the natural search engine positioning, and applying search optimization methods can only enhance the chances of your company’s website obtaining a higher ranking.

The trend is still for spending on online promotion to continue to rise. However there is still the necessity to decide how to make the best of that expenditure. search engine optimisation can still be an economic solution.