Paid Search not the way to go! - says eMarketer

"Paid search spending is up more than 40%, overshadowing all other forms of Internet advertising and marketing. Yet if you take a close look at the actions and attitudes of search users the people who monetize search with their clicks you may find that paid search ads are not the most effective way for you to advertise online."

This research study comes to a conclusion that we have seen echoed in many other studies that we have viewed on line and presented in Internet Marketing class.

We have seen information showing different demographic profiles for the major search engines that can be useful to marketers who are targeting particular markets.

Studies have indicated that trust in a web site or vendor can be a more important factor in a buying decision than price.

Searchers prefer natural listings over sponsored listings by a rate of 60-70% (although other studies have indicated that most searchers don't know the difference!) Different studies have shown us that searchers tend to see what is presented on the upper left side of the page more than any other page content. This finding could have something to do with the preference for natural listings, since sponsored ads tend to be placed on the right.

People more and more use the Internet to research purchases they are considering, sometimes far in advance of the actual purchase. In addition, many of those purchases occur "off-line", that is, the buyer will go to a store to complete the purchase after they have done the research on the Internet. It takes good marketing on your site to make these people convert on-line, where the site owner will get the direct benefit!

The lesson is that marketing on the Internet is a complex business that requires persistence and attention to detail in order to succeed. There is still no free lunch!