The Trend of Internet Advertising
Despite the recent economic downturn, internet advertising has bucked the trend of many businesses and industries and continues to expand (although just not as rapidly as predicted). A comprehensive and insightful article by The Economist Not ye olde banners talks about the trend, insights and figures relating to the internet or online advertising market.
The Figures
In addition to the graph you see above, eMarketer, a market-research firm has predicted that online-advertising spending in America, which makes up about half the global total, will increase by 8.9% in 2009, and thinks that search advertising will grow by 14.9%.
These figures are proof that more businesses are placing increasing emphasis on online marketing strategies and are not cutting down despite the downturn. Internet marketing strategies such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) have come a long way and are now being acknowledged as not just legitimate, but necessary marketing expenditure by businesses.
Why online advertising?
Online marketing is increasingly able to create awareness, consideration, preference and ultimately loyalty – essential qualities for a successful marketing campaign. Growth in online advertising is also supported by the 2008 State of the Market survey of advertisers and agencies by the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), a global non-profit organization serving the search engine marketing industry and marketing professional. The survey projects sustained search engine marketing growth over the long term – to an estimated $26.1 billion in total spending in the year 2013.
There are also several large untapped potential waiting to be unleashed, and one of them is the world’s most populous nation, China. eMarketer, a leading internet market researcher, forecasts that online advertising spending in China will grow from RMB7 billion ($924 million) in 2007 to RMB29.2 billion ($4.9 billion) in 2012. In the Middle East, there are an estimated 42 million internet users, and between 2000 and 2008 the region witnessed an impressive internet usage growth rate of 1,177% (Internet World Stats).
A New Wave?
Besides SEO and PPC, two other online options under the spotlight are videos (on sites such as YouTube) and social networking sites (like Facebook and Twitter). As their usage by consumers and the corporate world takes off, the owners of these platforms are still striving for the optimum revenue generation models. The future will see more ‘pay-for-use’ options but having to pay is not bad, it is the return on investment that counts. So the key is to get involved and learn what works as soon as possible.