Volatile Q1 for Paid Search Marketing, Spend Rebounds in March

ATLANTA, GA – April 14, 2009 – It was a volatile quarter for search marketing, with spend down in the first two months of Q1 and then up in March as marketers poured more money into paid search compared with a year earlier. These 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.

While spend was relatively flat in Q1 on average, a closer look at monthly trends shows that marketers decreased spend by 14 percent in January and then shifted course towards the end of the quarter, increasing spend 11 percent year-over-year in March.

“Marketers pulled back on their spend in the first two months of the quarter, but the increase in paid search spend in March compared with this time last year shows marketers still have confidence in search marketing as a key driver of revenue and customer acquisitions,” said Roger Barnette, President of SearchIgnite.

Among other findings, the report also reveals that consumers are still shopping online at a steady rate, although they are being more cautious in their purchasing decisions. This is evidenced by data showing consumers are taking longer to make purchase decisions and clicking on ads multiple times before converting.

Added Mr. Barnette, “The current economic environment continues to challenge marketers to get more value out of their advertising dollars and search is still the best, most cost-efficient vehicle for driving revenue.”

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

About SearchIgnite
SearchIgnite is the leading provider of search optimization and reporting solutions that help large, sophisticated marketers achieve their online marketing goals quicker and spend their advertising dollars smarter. The SearchIgnite media platform provides advertisers with an advanced suite of tools to manage, optimize, track and report on their paid search and other online media campaigns in one central dashboard. In addition, 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 marketing campaigns.

SearchIgnite is part of Innovation Interactive, a digital marketing services company.