Search Marketing Thriving in a Depressed Economy

Television, all forms of print, and radio are becoming decimated by the economic climate. Marketers’ budgets are getting slashed, and these traditional forms of advertising businesses are forced to lay off workers and in some cases, close their doors. Despite the hit with traditional media, various forms of interactive advertising are holding strong, one being search marketing.

Google just reported an 18 percent increase in revenues in the 4th quarter of 2008, over the same period from a year ago. This is fantastic; double-digit growth during the year our economy came crashing down. Google’s main stream of income is derived from its paid search business.

Microsoft recently reported that search revenue grew by double digits as well. Yahoo is floundering, but that’s due to its focus on online display and lack of a clear search strategy. Despite their floundering, their revenue is flat, which compared to traditional media outlets, is pretty good.

One of the reasons search is performing so well is the amount of comparison shopping being performed online. With consumers being more budget-conscious, they utilize search, as it’s the most efficient and effective way to find various products and services they are searching for. Another reason is the fact that it is measurable and it really works.

Search will continue to grow in 2009 despite the poor economy. Marketers will be shifting more ad dollars towards interactive media, and search will be a top candidate for grabbing a big slice of that pie. If you’re not conducting search campaigns currently, I strongly recommend that you start. It works, but you will need experts to guide you in best practices to maximize your returns.