US search advertising is showing signs that it could record a first quarter decline, according to figures from search management provider SearchIgnite.
The company found that US ad spending among its clients was down 4% in the first three months of the year when compared to the same period a year earlier.
However, SearchIgnite noted an improvement in March, when spending rose 11% year over year. February spending was flat and January’s was down 14%.
Roger Barnette, president of SearchIgnite, said: “There’s a lot of volatility. Marketers have a very short-term view now. They’re making decisions month by month and in some cases week by week.”
Although it was a volatile marketplace for spending trends, SearchIgnite found some consistency regarding where the money went. Google attracted 74% of spending while Yahoo remained at 20% and MSN was at less than 10%.
SearchIgnite also charted uncertain consumer behaviour, finding that the purchase cycle lengthened, with consumers less likely to buy after the first click.
It found that the time between the first click and conversion was 32% longer in the first quarter of 2009 compared to a year previously.
A recent report from eMarketer revealed that online’s share of US media ad spending is rising by at least 1 percentage point every year (see Online share of US media ad spending continues to rise).
A report from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers, meanwhile, found that UK online adspend grew 17.1% in 2008, to £3.4 billion (see UK online adspend grew 17.1% in 2008).
