Manage Subscriptions · Subscribe Now · F.A.Q.'s
HOME · Friday, July 4, 2008
Marketing & Revenue Growth
Q&A: Outlook for Search Advertising Prices
An Interview with Kevin McCarthy of ChannelAdvisor
Will ecommerce firms pay more or less for paid search ads in the near future?
Google’s net profit in 2005 exceeded 30 percent of gross revenue. This is a huge profit margin compared to many other companies and industries. Yahoo!, MSN and Ask.com are investing heavily for a portion of this paid search market. There are, additionally, specialized “vertical” search engines that themselves offer paid search advertising.
We asked Kevin McCarthy, vice president of search for ChannelAdvisor, whether these new efforts to the search market will translate in lower paid search advertising costs for ecommerce firms.
PeC: The search advertising market is getting more competitive. Will this help reduce search advertising costs for ecommerce firms?
McCarthy: Perhaps. Certainly Google’s profits margins are very high and Yahoo!, for example, is about to launch Yahoo Publisher Network, which is its own version of Google’s AdSense program. They key will be whether these other search companies can lessen Google’s 50 percent to 60 percent market share of all searches.
PeC: You don’t seem convinced prices will reduce.
McCarthy: I’m not. It really depends on the keywords. For many popular keywords the market has already peaked, whereby it doesn’t make economic sense to bid on them. For others, such as more sophisticated, extended keyword phrases, the conversion rate is higher and the bid prices are lower. It also depends greatly on the seasonality of the products being sold and advertised.
PeC: Do you recommend that ecommerce firms advertise on multiple search engines?
McCarthy: The key to us is whether smaller ecommerce companies have time to manage multiple paid search campaigns without outsourcing some or all of it. It’s a major effort to keep track of it all, especially if several search companies are involved.
Blinklist | Del.icio.us | Furl | Ma.gnolia | Newsvine | Spurl | Reddit | Technorati
Published on Monday, July 31, 2006
Comments:
Ecommerce Articles
- Browse All Articles
- Browse our complete archive of ecommerce articles.
- Accounting, Management & Legal
- Ecommerce articles related to managing a small business including ecommerce accounting, business strategy and legal considerations.
- Conversion & Usability
- Online business articles about converting web site visitors into customers and how to gauge and improve your business website's usability.
- Development & Programming
- Articles to help designers, developers and programmers create successful, search engine friendly ecommerce websites and improve existing ones.
- Hosting, Infrastructure & Software
- Articles for ecommerce businesses about ecommerce web hosting, business infrastructure, business strategy and helpful ecommerce & small business software.
- Interviews & Profiles
- Interviews with prominent ecommerce business personalities and profiles of successful online businesses.
- Inventory & Shipping
- Ecommerce articles about inventory management, ecommerce order fulfillment and product shipping considerations.
- Marketing & Revenue Growth
- Articles relating to online marketing, email marketing and using the Internet to growing your business.
- Search Engine Optimization
- Search engine optimization articles for ecommerce business owners, strategists, marketers and developers.
- Shopping Carts & Online Payments
- Articles covering ecommerce shopping cart platforms and options for choosing an online payment gateway.
- Training & Education
- Tutorials and articles providing training and education for ecommerce business owners and developers of ecommerce websites.
Search Articles
Ecommerce Community
- Ecommerce Blogs
- Read our blogs about ecommerce topics written by industry professionals.
- Community Forum
- Connect with other ecommerce professionals to trade advice and answers in our community forum.
- Podcasts
- Check out our ecommerce podcasts covering topics ranging from interviews to tutorials.
- RSS Content Feeds
- Subscribe to our RSS feeds and have fresh ecommerce content delivered to you.
Ecommerce Resources
- Free Email Newsletter
- Sign up for Ecommerce Notes, our free email newsletter for ecommerce business owners and developers.
- Ecommerce Directory
- Browse our directory of ecommerce products and services, or submit your own listing in our directory.
- Ecommerce Glossary
- Familiarize yourself with terminology or submit terms to help others with our Ecommerce Glossary.
- Events Calendar
- Find out about upcoming ecommerce events or invite other ecommerce professionals by posting your own event.
- Press Releases
- Browse ecommerce related press releases and post your own press release for distribution.
- Ecommerce Store & Back Issues
- Pick up back issues of Practical eCommerce magazine along with other merchandise from Practical Ecommerce
About Practical eCommerce
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Look at frequently asked questions regarded using our website, subscribing to our magazine and more.
- Advertising Information
- Information about advertising in Practical eCommerce magazine, on our website, or in our email newsletters.
- Editorial Sharing
- Learn about options for sharing our content with your visitors, customers or employees.
- About Us
- Learn more about Practical Ecommerce magazine and meet our staff.
- Contact Us
- Contact Practical Ecommerce at any time for more information. We'd love to hear from you.
Copyright 2007 Confluence Distribution, Inc. and Practical eCommerce.
All Rights Reserved.
There are no comments posted for this article.