paid search - Internet Marketing News and Blogs

Probably one of the most material and controversial changes for the UK and Irish paid search markets is almost upon us – the relaxation of the trademark protection Google currently affords to brands will cease on 5 May 2008.

As Ivan Izikowitz writes, some analysts and industry experts have taken the cynical view that this is merely a way for Google to stimulate volume and/or increased prices at a time when its revenue growth is slowing.

There is another perspective, however…

Over at WebmasterWorld there is some talk about a relatively new ranking factor that determines Google’s Quality Score on Adwords, with ‘load time’ now taken into account.

After a short measurement period Google will make a judgement call and if your pages are deemed too slow then your Quality Score will take a hit, meaning that you'll need to spend more to maintain or improve upon your ad positions.

We’ve just published our 2007 Search Engine Marketing Buyer's Guide  and the sector is looking as healthy as ever.

We forecast that UK spending on Search Engine Marketing will increase 58% this year to £2.22bn - and although that growth rate is down from 65% in 2006, the market still looks to have plenty of room for growth in the future. 

If carried out correctly, a paid search campaign can be a cost-effective method of generating new revenues and repeat business, as outlined in our recent Paid Search Marketing (PPC) Business Case report.

Paid search is the fastest method of getting your website up the search rankings. This can be done within hours of setting up an account and selecting your keywords.

Agencies specialising in search engine optimisation (SEO) will be heartened by recent E-consultancy research which shows that the majority of companies are committed to more investment in natural search.

Recruiting paid search professionals can be a painful experience. Whether you're an agency specialising in search or a company looking to bring it in-house, the demand for paid search professionals has never been greater.

In these market conditions it’s easy to panic and jump on the first candidate who’s heard of Adwords, but there is another way.

Advertisers on Baidu, the largest search engine in China, appear to be losing confidence in its ability to deal with click fraud, according to a new report.

The search engine has 58% of the search market in China, compared to Google's 17%, but the click fraud problems could help its rivals to catch up.

Even if your search engine optimisation strategy is successful it is still important to promote your brand using paid search, according to Susan Minniear at the Official Google CPG Blog.

Andy Beal at MarketingPilgrim has an interesting article, in which he reports claims from Google that their click fraud rate is less then 2%.

Andy has been talking to Google’s business product manager for trust and safety, Shuman Ghosemajumder, about click fraud detection. He was shown a PowerPoint presentation which was normally for Google employees' eyes only.