Online Advertising Continues to Surge

• By Cali Shaye
• Online Head Shops
• 15 years ago
• 0

According to the latest comScoredata, there were 1.1 trillion online display advertising impressions in the U.S. in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 15% over the same period in 2009. If that’s not convincing enough, Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers found that Web ad revenue in the U.S. totaled $5.9 billion in the first quarter, up 7.5% from the same period just a year ago.This is exactly in line with what we advocate here at Where 2 Get It. The most powerful marketing programs are utilizing a cross-channel approach that combines: great SEO tactics, a strong online advertising program, Pay Per Click, local search and of course- store/business locator solutions on both your corporate website and Facebook fan page. Recently, research firm eMarketer revised its U.S. Internet ad spending forecast upward to the tune of 10.8% growth this year over last. Just back in December, the firm had predicted ad spending would increase only 5.5%. So, why the rosy outlook all of a sudden? All the research points to marketing budgets swiftly turning away from traditional media and to the world wide Web of online advertising.Consumers are heading online to shop, search and buy steadily more and more every day. And with the combination of social media and increased banner and PPC advertising providing easier access to what consumer’s are looking for- the outlook for consumer and even b2b facing companies is focused more online this year than ever.In a study conducted by social networking site myYearbook, 81% of respondents said they’d received advice from friends and followers relating to a product purchase through a social site; 74 percent of those who received such advice found it to be influential in their decision. (Click Z, January 2010) While 90% of consumers online trust recommendations from people they know; 70% trust opinions of unknown users. (Econsultancy, July 2009)On thesocial networking scene, Friends still play an important role in influencing your potential consumers. 83% of online shoppers said they are interested in sharing information about their purchases with people they know, while 74 percent are influenced by the opinions of others in their decision to buy the product in the first place. (Manage Smarter, September 2009)Food for thought in a rough and tumble online advertising landscape. Maybe that social media + PPC campaign is worth its start-up and maintenance costs.Have an opinion on this topic or what you’re company has been doing? Great! Please share via email @ [email protected]