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The Evolution of Paid SearchSpotting and Staying Ahead of the Trend

About Marin

The leading platform for managing

search, display, and social

The Leader In Paid Search Applications

But online still represents less than 15% of total advertising spend.

Advertisers spend 3x more on traditional media than the internet

(Yet consumers spend an equal amount of time on each.)

About Marin Software

Spend is rising faster than query volume, putting pressure on costs-per-click

The Search Marketer’s Dilemma

• Increase spend while maintaining a constant ROI

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This Creates a Problem for Search Engines

How to increase volume without increasing click costs?

How are Search Engines responding?

Inventory (Improve

Performance)

Advertisers (Incentivize Efficiency)

Consumers (Expand Query

Volume)

THE IMPACT OF GOOGLE INSTANT ON PAID SEARCH

What is Google Instant?

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Instant Represented a Paradigm Shift

Increased volumes & lower per click costs.

Instant Changed Consumer Behavior

Users complete searches with fewer words.

Smart Advertisers Were Rewarded

Instant allows advertisers to better capitalize on narrow match types.

The Impact of Google Instant

Engines (More Clicks)

Advertisers (Lower Cost Per Click)

Consumers (More searches)

The Yahoo-Bing Search Alliance

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More Volume with Less Effort

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94M Unique Searchers

11.7% Share

1.8B

Monthly Searches

110M Unique Searchers

16.9% Share

Monthly Searches

2.6B 154M Unique Searchers

28.6% Share

Monthly Searches4.4B

U.S. data shownSource: comScore Media Metrix March 2010

Market Share Impact

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The alliance resulted in increased impressions and clicks at a lower overall cost to advertisers.

Favorable Cost Conditions

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Post-transition advertisers saw improved cost-per-click

A Favorable Performance Environment

Resulting in higher conversion rates at lower cost per acquisition

The Impact of the Search Alliance

Engines (More Clicks)

Advertisers (Increased Performance)

Consumers (?)

Incentivizing Advertisers

Quality as the Key Driver of ROI

Quality Score

Landing Page

Ad CopyCTR

"Quality Score helps ensure that only the most relevant ads appear to users.

The AdWords system works best for everybody -- advertisers, users, publishers, and Google -- when the ads we display match our users' needs as closely as possible…

…In general, the higher your Quality Score, the lower your costs and the better your ad position.”

-- adwords.google.com

Large Advertisers Realizing Efficiency Gains

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Trends by Match Types

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Click-through rates on exact match have improved…

…while cost-per-click on exact match have declined.

Resulting in a Shift by Advertisers

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Advertisers increased their % of clicks on exact match by 7% last year, lowering costs.

The Impact of Quality Score Changes

Engines (More clicks)

Advertisers (Increased efficiency)

Consumers (Relevant ads)

Anticipate Changes in Volume

Capitalize on Search Engine Innovation

Actively Promote Quality

Goal: Tighten connections between search query, keyword, and ad copy.

Keyword Selection

CampaignStructure

CopyTesting

Develop a Point of View on the Future

Download the Advanced Search Tips Whitepaper at www.marinsoftware.com!

Matt Lawsonmlawson@marinsoftware.com