Google Continues to Dominate Online Advertising

10/24/2008

As search engine giant Google has become more dominant, it is doing away with the secrecy that usually surrounds it. What does this mean? That the company is making it easier for Internet marketers to use its technology to garner better paid search results and get a better ROI in other instances as well.

For example, Google is being more open about how it calculates a Quality Score. This is the score that determines where an Internet marketer’s ad appears on the page – in the number two slot, for instance, or the number 10 spot.

Google Getting More Bang for the “Transparency Buck”

In the end, this spells more money for Google. How? By being more open with their information, more Internet marketers are using Google for their online advertising needs. As more companies use it, it becomes a more crowded marketplace.

A more crowded marketplace means that prices are driven up as more retailers seek the top spots in search results. And hence you witness Economics 101 in action. Competition equals price increases – all of which means more money for Google.

It’s already starting to happen. It’s no secret that Google has the lion’s share of search. The search giant accounts for a little less than 62% of searches by U.S.-based web surfers in July, according to comScore.

Satisfied Searchers Equal Satisfied Internet Marketers

Web searchers – and Internet marketers trying to reach them – seem to be more than satisfied with Google. It scored an 86 out of 100 in this year’s American Consumer Satisfaction Index. Yahoo, its closest competitor slid down three points, scoring 77 points. Microsoft held steady at 75.

VistaPrint.com and CPA2Biz.com are two e-tailers who have found great success with Google. CPA2Biz.com says that 10% of its overall online sales come from Google-driven traffic, and VistaPrint.com reports that it reduced its customer acquisition cost by 12% during the holiday season.

Internet Marketers Still Need to Know Their Niche

While Google marches toward making it easy for Internet marketers to make more money from their online campaigns, online marketing experts caution that companies still need to clearly know their business (what works, why, what doesn’t, etc.) to get the most from their online advertising.

For more insight visit Pay Per Click Management