Search Marketing Report 2008 - South Africa

Written by: Mandy de Waalt. + 27 12 667 2316c. + 27 82 557 9190e. mandyd@mweb.co.zahttp://www.mdw.typepad.com

THE SEARCH MARKETING REPORT

Commissioned by: ITWeb (PTY) Ltdt. + 27 11

807-3294

e.

itnews@itweb.co.za

e. sales@itweb.co.zahttp://www.itweb.co.za

2Written by: Mandy de Waalt. + 27 12 667 2316c. + 27 82 557 9190e. mandyd@mweb.co.zahttp://www.mdw.typepad.comCommissioned by: ITWeb (PTY) Ltdt. + 27 11

807-3294

e.

itnews@itweb.co.za

e. sales@itweb.co.zahttp://www.itweb.co.za

THE SEARCH MARKETING REPORT

If you’re a technology marketer you should be online. Analysts say some 4.8 mil-lion South Africans are, and the big money’s going to search. Top analysts predicta boom in the local advertising market following the recent telecoms revolutionand as infrastructure gearing for 2010 gets underway in earnest. As the advertisingrecession bites and marketers look for delivery and a strong return on investmentMandy de Waal, freelance journalist for ITWeb gives you the A-Z of search market-ing. Everything you wanted to know about online advertising and search marketingfrom the industry’s leaders.A former broadcast journalist, Mandy de Waal spent twenty years in branding mar-keting before returning to her first love, journalism. She writes for a number oftitles including ITWeb. Read Artificial Intelligence, her blog on new media, cur-rent affairs and business at:http://mdw.typepad.com/.

IN THIS REPORT:

The big money’s going to search

3

The local online landscape

5

South Africa snoozes

6

What is search marketing?

7

What marketers should know

8

Hiring and managing specialists

9

Hiring and managing specialists

11

Charl Norman, the rising netrepreneur

12

Rafiq Phillips, the Web AddiCT

13

Resource guide

14

3

Search marketing is big money

Because it delivers ROI in a recessionary market

85% of marketers are using, piloting, or planning to pilot search marketing programs this year. Asurvey of 275 interactive and business-to-business marketers in Asia Pacific, Europe and NorthAmerica by research companyForrester, shows that marketers in those regions love search. Simplybecause if done well, it delivers to the bottom line.Then in the US while economic uncertainties have put pressure on the ad market, online ad spend-ing continues to buck the trend.JupiterResearchforecasts that online advertising will grow justless than 20 percent in 2008 to $23.8 billion, saying that as advertisers continue to seek increasedaccountability and return on investment (ROI), spending will additionally grow at a 13 percentcompound annual growth rate (CAGR) to $43.4 billion in 2013. This in comparison to off-line adspending that will increase at a mere four percent. When the market snaps back consumer adop-tion of the internet will drive this trend harder. Paid search will get the lion’s share of online ad-Earlier this month General Motors’ media services unit announced a rationalisation to focus ondigital talents and tools, with Ad Age reporting that it would spend $1.5bn of its $3 billion adver-tising budget online. General Motors is the biggest auto advertiser in the United States, and themove is telling. It’s in line withthe US motoring industry trends,reported on by TNS Media Intelli-gence, which sees car brandsspend more on internet advertis-ing, while decreasing their spendon television, print, and in news-papers. Billboard and radio spendremains the same.

SOURCE: TNS Media Intelligence

Of all online advertising tactics,search is proving to be the crownprince of interactive marketing.That’s because the internet’stime has come and new media isdramatically shaping consumerbehaviour. How do you buy a car, a house, or a new financial product? You do your researchonline. What if you’re going on holiday? The disintermediation of travel agents clearly shows thatpeople are researching, booking and paying for holidays on line. There was a time when you’dphone your local travel agency when you wanted to book an airline ticket, now it appears laugh-able to even think of doing this.