About a month ago ZDNet had an article entitled "Internet ad revenue climbs 26 percent". It says: "As of June, advertisers had spent $5.8 billion to place ads online this year, a 26 percent increase compared with the first six months of 2004, according to a new report." These figures don't include the amount of dollars invested in natural search engine optimization (SEO). The increase is probably due to more advertisers advertising more heavily, and price increases. However, back in March of 2005 Netimperitive did an article entitled "Search Marketing growth to slow by 2007".
The reasons for this European study they quoted (that could be applied to the U.S.) are: "...it will be very difficult for some companies to pay for the heavy prices of paid ads against a possible backlash of consumers and clients." Plus, "In addition, the rise of rich media ads, enabled by increased residential broadband access, will pull ad spending away from other forms of offline and online advertising, causing the cost of keyword search to increase." Yes, broadband access is growing, paid advertising prices are rising, and a "paid advertising" client backlash of some kind will probably happen! However, this is one of many reasons that I believe that natural SEO will continue to grow.
Online Marketing will continue to pull ad spending away from offline. This article entitled "Broadband Growth Expected to Drive Search Engine Usage" says it well: "As the market expands and more and more people head online to research products and services, the areas that are not yet searched for will be. Putting some time and effort into making sure that your web site is the one that they find could turn out to be one of the best marketing investments that you ever make." The key words there are "Time" and "Effort".
Jim Hedger recently wrote "64% of Search Advertisers Failing to Follow SEO Recommendations". It demonstrates the need for clients and prospective clients of SEO to either allow control of their web site to the SEO Consultant, or follow through on ALL the recommendations given them to improve results. Expectations by both the buyer and the seller of SEO need to be communicated in an open, honest, upfront, clear, complete, and easily comprehended way!
Maybe the eventual "backlash" by paid advertising clients will carry over into the natural SEO side of search marketing? Why, because, as Jim puts it in "Readers Concerned about SEO Ethics": "SEO is a best attempt service. That means your SEO vendor will make their best attempt. It also means that many attempts to achieve placements are made if the first attempt does not work." In my opinion, clients investing what they consider to be "heavily" can get frustrated. One frustrated SEO client (not of Jim's SEO firm) is quoted by Jim in that same article who says: "...we have no way to determine who knows what they are doing and who does not. So we are faced with the daunting gamble of dumping money into what can only be at best a good guess. That can be economically unfeasible for most."
What a shame it will be if too many clients feel that way, and then promote negative word of mouth advertising about the SEO industry! SEO, as part of an online search marketing campaign, is now, and will continue to be, the most cost effective (for ROI) online search marketing tool a business can use, in my opinion. So, what can be done to help with the credibility and educational issues facing SEO Consultants? I'll have one suggestion on that soon.
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