Paid Search Spend Increases in Q3, Supported by Strong Retail Growth

ATLANTA, GA – October 12, 2009 – U.S. paid search spend was flat year-over-year ("YoY"), yet up 10% quarter-over-quarter ("QoQ") on a sequential quarterly basis, a solid increase heading into Q4. The most pronounced growth came from multi-channel retailers, who increased paid search spend by 40% in Q3 09 compared with Q3 08, despite flat conversion rates and average order value ("AOV"). The findings come from a report released today by SearchIgnite, a leading provider of search optimization technology managing more than $350 million in paid search annually.

"This is the second consecutive quarter of sequential growth for paid search spend, indicating marketer's continued confidence in search marketing as an efficient component of their overall marketing mix ," said Roger Barnette, President of SearchIgnite. "Multi-channel retailers in particular have continued to rely more heavily on paid search as a key driver of sales in a challenging economic environment."

The SearchIgnite report also revealed new data on paid search share among the major engines – Google, Yahoo! and Bing. Microsoft's Bing showed the most pronounced growth in spend among all engines, up 15% YoY. By contrast, spend on Yahoo! was down -24% YoY. Despite these spend shifts, there was no movement in search share QoQ, with all engines maintaining their respective positions. Year-over-year saw Yahoo! lose share to Google, while Bing showed little growth.

"Microsoft is headed in the right direction with Bing and attracting more advertiser dollars. That said, it's an uphill battle against Google and there's still a long way to go before Bing garners a significant amount of the search ad revenue pie," added Mr. Barnette.

This report is the latest in a series of SearchIgnite white papers reviewing trends across the search landscape. To download the white paper, please visit: http://www.searchignite.com/.

About SearchIgnite
SearchIgnite is a leading provider of paid search optimization solutions that enable large, sophisticated marketers to achieve their online goals faster and smarter. The company's search marketing platform gives advertisers an advanced suite of tools to manage, optimize and report on their paid search campaigns in one central dashboard. Marketers who use SearchIgnite have the ability to gather insights into the relationship between media channels, enabling them to spend smarter. Some of the world’s leading brands and advertising agencies depend on SearchIgnite technology to power their online campaigns.

SearchIgnite is part of Innovation Interactive, a digital marketing services company. For more information, please visit http://www.searchignite.com/.