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UK Search Engine Marketing Benchmark Report 2012

In association with NetBooster

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UK Search Engine Marketing Benchmark Report 2012

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Published May 2012

UK Search Engine Marketing Benchmark Report 2012 In association with NetBooster

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage

and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright © Econsultancy.com Ltd 2012

Contents

1. Executive Summary and Highlights ................................ 5

2. Foreword, by NetBooster ................................................. 9

2.1. About NetBooster .................................................................... 10

2.2. About Econsultancy ................................................................. 11

3. Methodology .................................................................. 12

4. Findings ......................................................................... 13

4.1. Type of search activity and search services .............................. 13

4.1.1. Companies carrying out search and social media marketing ................................................................................... 13

4.1.2. Agency focus ..............................................................................14

4.1.3. Search and social media marketing: in-house or agency ....... 15

4.1.4. Paid search services (supply and demand) ............................ 18

4.1.5. SEO services (supply and demand) ......................................... 21

4.1.6. Search marketing services requested ..................................... 24

4.1.7. Multilingual search campaigns ............................................... 25

4.1.8. Multi-territory search campaigns ........................................... 27

4.2. Budgets ................................................................................... 29

4.2.1. Percentage of overall budget spent on search marketing ..... 29

4.2.2. Change in search and social media budgets ........................... 29

4.2.3. Paid search budget ................................................................... 32

4.2.4. Annual change in paid search budgets ................................... 34

4.2.5. Paid search budget change across Google, Microsoft/Yahoo Search Alliance, and others ....................... 36

4.2.6. Percentage of paid search budget spent on local search ....... 40

4.2.7. Percentage of paid search budget spent on mobile search ... 40

4.2.8. Percentage of paid search budget spent on management fees ..............................................................................................41

4.2.9. SEO budget ............................................................................... 42

4.2.10. Annual change in SEO budgets ............................................... 44

4.2.11. Social media marketing budget ............................................... 46

4.2.12. Annual change in social media budgets ................................. 48

4.3. Bid management technology ................................................... 50

4.3.1. Criteria for selecting bid management technology ................ 52

4.4. Objectives, effectiveness and ROI ........................................... 55

4.4.1. Primary objectives for search and social media marketing .. 55

4.4.2. Impact on brand ....................................................................... 57

4.4.3. Effectiveness of ROI tracking .................................................. 60

UK Search Engine Marketing Benchmark Report 2012 In association with NetBooster

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and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright © Econsultancy.com Ltd 2012

4.4.4. Factors affecting search marketing ROI ................................. 63

4.4.5. Success of marketing activity .................................................. 64

4.4.6. Annual change in referred traffic ............................................ 66

4.5. Types of search engine marketing ........................................... 68

4.5.1. Local search versus social search ............................................. 71

4.5.2. Integration of search and display ........................................... 72

4.6. Social media ............................................................................ 73

4.6.1. Social media sites ..................................................................... 73

4.6.2. Media spend as a proportion of social media budget ............ 74

4.6.3. Impact of Google+ .................................................................... 75

4.6.4. Use of social media in the context of search marketing ........ 78

4.7. Barriers to search and social media marketing ....................... 80

4.7.1. Barriers to paid search ............................................................. 80

4.7.2. Barriers to SEO ......................................................................... 83

4.7.3. Barriers to social media ........................................................... 86

5. Respondent profiles ....................................................... 89

5.1. Job roles .................................................................................. 89

5.2. Annual company turnover ...................................................... 90

5.3. Business sector ......................................................................... 91

5.4. Geography ............................................................................... 92

SAMPLE UK Search Engine Marketing Benchmark Report 2012

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and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright © Econsultancy.com Ltd 2012

1. Executive Summary and Highlights This is the sixth annual UK Search Engine Marketing Benchmark Report published by

Econsultancy in association with NetBooster. The research, which covers search engine

optimisation (SEO), paid search and social media marketing, is based on a survey of more than

500 companies carried out in February and March 2012.

Budgets remain strong, with room for growth

In the five years since this report was first published, search marketing spend has increased

continuously and shows little sign of slowing down.

Search and social media marketing investment continues to grow, with only a

small minority of responding companies planning to decrease their spending.

– Nearly two-thirds of companies (62%) plan to increase social media spending

in the next 12 months.

– In addition, 57% will increase their SEO spending and 49% will invest more in

paid search.

A large number of companies are still spending relatively small amounts on social media

marketing, but nearly one in ten (9%) of those changing their budgets this year will

more than double their spend.

Although almost three quarters of in-company respondents (73%) came from organisations with a

turnover in excess of £1 million, 40% spend less than £25,000 on paid search, with 67% and 84%

spending similar sums on SEO and social media marketing respectively. This indicates continued

room for growth in search and social marketing spend.

This growth in the paid search market over the last five years is reflected by revenue reports from

Google. Between the first quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2012, the search engine’s

income from paid search advertising increased by 220%.1

Between 2011 and 2012, Google UK revenues (for the first quarter of the year) grew by 18.7%.

Google+ is an unknown quantity for many marketers, with businesses

typically doing little to exploit opportunities for increased visibility

Despite its success as a search engine, Google has yet to make equally impressive inroads into the

social space. Google+ is the fulcrum of its effort to change this situation, and there has been much

discussion about what implications Google+ will have for search and social marketing, especially

as Google continues to promote its social network.

1 Google’s Quarterly Earnings can be found at http://investor.google.com/earnings.html

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2. Foreword, by NetBooster It’s a pleasure to write the introduction to the sixth annual UK Search Engine Marketing

Benchmark report.

Firstly let me say thank you to everyone who responded both agency-side and client-side, and to

the team at Econsultancy who, as usual, have worked hard to make this a great report. I am

delighted to say that the search sector is still evolving at pace, and the outlook for investment in

search marketing remains positive.

This last year has been a period of the most rapid and interesting change we've seen in digital and

search for a long time. The growth of mobile is slowly transforming how users interact with the

internet and now accounts for a significant volume of traffic, and Google+ has finally bridged the

divide between search and social as never before.

As we go ahead, I feel that rather than comparing Google+ to Facebook we should see it and the

tools it offers as an extension of what is already one of your most important channels: going

forward, there will be plenty of new ways to engage your audience through Google. That said, we

should still keep a close eye on the efforts and integration of Facebook and Bing.

The increasing demand for social media interaction through SEO agencies shows that clients are

embracing these developments, and agencies are embracing the chance to get creative with the

latest opportunities in PPC, SEO, display and social search.

A lot of companies also appear to be aware of the significant possibilities offered by display and

ad-retargeting, with 68% using this channel. Still, less than 10% of companies are integrating

search and display, so there’s a strong opportunity for agencies to compete for integrated

business.

We’re all working in an exciting environment and time for digital marketers, rife with multi-

channel opportunities. 2011 through to 2012 has been a period of evolution and innovation, and it

looks likes that will continue into 2013.

Edward Cowell, SEO Director

NetBooster UK

http://www.netbooster.co.uk/

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2.1. About NetBooster

NetBooster is an international marketing agency, native to digital, with a holistic approach to creativity, technology and media to bring the right message to the right people at the right time.

At NetBooster we operate in real time; rethinking, adapting and utilising live data to decode, predict and react to consumer behaviour and engagement in intricate detail - as it happens.

Our extensive global network of 450 experts located in 17 offices across the globe, means that we have the capacity to deliver both local and multinational marketing solutions with the same attention to detail, regardless of scale, budget or territory.

The NetBooster Group has been built via tactical acquisition of the best performers in our local markets making us experts at what we do. We combine enterprise level tools and dedicated specialist teams, who work seamlessly together across global and local markets as one team, guaranteeing the same quality service delivery for our multi-territory clients.

Founded in 1998, during the early years of the emerging internet phenomenon, NetBooster was a pioneer within Search Engine Optimization. NetBooster has evolved into a full service marketing agency with a strong digital focus, offering a holistic approach to technology, creativity and media with specialist units across the group of experts in each field of marketing including; Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Pay-PerClick Advertising (PPC), Display Advertising, Affiliate Marketing, Analytics, Data Mining, Social Media Marketing, Facebook Advertising, Email Marketing, CRM Intelligence, Mobile, Online Video, Website Development, Special Operations / Projects, Consultancy & Training and Creative Advertising Campaigns. NetBooster delivers these services to clients including Europcar, Accor, Opodo, Argos and Disneyland Resort Paris.

NetBooster’s offices are located in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands, with an international headquarters in London. NetBooster is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange.

NetBooster: How every agency should be.

http://www.netbooster.co.uk/

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2.2. About Econsultancy Econsultancy is a global independent community-based publisher, focused on best practice digital marketing and e-commerce, and used by over 400,000 internet professionals every month.

Our hub has 120,000+ members worldwide from clients, agencies and suppliers alike with over 90% member retention rate. We help our members build their internal capabilities via a combination of research reports and how-to guides, training and development, consultancy, face-to-face conferences, forums and professional networking.

For the last ten years, our resources have helped members learn, make better decisions, build business cases, find the best suppliers, accelerate their careers and lead the way in best practice and innovation.

Econsultancy has offices in London, New York and Dubai and we are a leading provider of digital marketing training and consultancy. We are providing consultancy and custom training in the Middle East, and extensively across Europe and Asia. We trained over 5,000 marketers and ran over 200 public training courses in 2011.

Join Econsultancy today to learn what’s happening in digital marketing – and what works.

Call us to find out more on +44 (0)20 7269 1450 (London) or +1 212 699 3626 (New York). You

can also contact us online.

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and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright © Econsultancy.com Ltd 2012

3. Methodology This is the sixth annual UK Search Engine Marketing Benchmark Report published by

Econsultancy, in association with NetBooster. Many of the questions in the survey have been

repeated over this time period, enabling us to compare data and look at trends.

There were more than 500 respondents to our 2012 research request, which took the form of an

online survey2 in February and March 2012. Respondents included both companies (in-house

marketers) and supply-side respondents (including agencies and consultants).

Information about the survey, including the link, was emailed to Econsultancy’s user base and

promoted on Twitter. The incentive for taking part was access to a complimentary copy of this

report just before its publication on the Econsultancy website.

Detailed breakdowns of the respondent profiles are included in the appendix. The main points of

note are:

61% of survey respondents worked in-house for companies, compared to 39% who worked for

agencies/consultancies.

27% of in-house respondents stated they worked for a company with a turnover of less than £1

million, whilst 24% stated they worked for a company with a turnover greater than £150

million.

On the client-side, the best represented sectors were retail (21%), travel (11%), financial

services (10%), consultancy/marketing (8%) and publishing (7%).

The majority of respondents came from the UK, making up 98% of companies and 93% of

agencies.

For charts showing differences between years, the figures indicate percentage point changes, not

relative changes between the years specified.

If you have any questions about the research, please email Econsultancy’s Research Director,

Linus Gregoriadis (linus@econsultancy.com).

2 Econsultancy uses Clicktools for its online surveys

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4. Findings

4.1. Type of search activity and search services

4.1.1. Companies carrying out search and social media marketing

The chart below shows the types of marketing being carried out by companies. The area which the

most companies are consistently involved in is search engine optimisation (SEO), with 92% of

responding companies this year saying they do this. Around eight out of ten (79%) said they used

analytics, with around three quarters of companies using paid search (74%) and social media

marketing (76%).

Companies were also asked if they used display advertising. Just under half of respondents (47%)

said they were involved in display advertising.

The high use of analytics appears to reflect the ever-increasing onus on marketing departments to

become accountable for their spend and demonstrate a return on investment for their efforts. The

higher use of SEO is likely to due to the low barrier to entry for what is considered SEO (e.g.

creating a navigable website, considering keywords when creating content etc.) rather than the

advanced and prolonged strategy around gaining sustained, relevant backlinks through the

consistent creation of effective content.

Companies

Figure 1: Which of the following types of marketing is your organisation or

agency involved in?

Respondents: 624

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4.1.2. Agency focus

Figure 2 shows that almost half (45%) of agencies taking part in the 2012 survey said they offered

a full range of digital marketing services. In 2011, the figure was 42%, but in 2010 46% of

respondents said they offered this full range.

One in five agencies questioned (20%) said they specialised in SEO exclusively, with smaller

proportions specialising in paid search (8%) and social media (3%). For those agencies who offer

a specific mixture of services, 11% said they offered a mix of SEO and paid search whilst 10% said

they offered a mix of search and social media services.

Agencies

Figure 2: What is your main focus as an agency?

Respondents 2012: 188

Respondents 2011: 206

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4.2. Budgets

4.2.1. Percentage of overall budget spent on search marketing

Companies were asked about the percentage of their total marketing budget spent on search

engine marketing. On average, company respondents spend 23% of their budget on search engine

marketing.

Agency respondents were asked how much of their clients’ marketing budget was typically spent

across paid search, SEO and social media. The percentage given for paid search has fallen by three

percentage points since 2011, from 25% to 22%, whilst the percentage spent on social media has

slightly increased from 8% to 9%.

Agencies

Table 1: Of your clients’ total marketing budget, what percentage is typically

spent on search and social media marketing?

Percentage of clients’ marketing budget spent on search and social media marketing

2011 2012

Paid search 25% 22%

SEO 20% 20%

Social media 8% 9%

4.2.2. Change in search and social media budgets

Figure 20 illustrates how companies believe their budgets for search and social media marketing

will change over the next 12 months. As further proof of the value of search and social media

marketing, it can be seen that only a small minority of companies are planning to decrease

spending across any of these areas over the next 12 months. For SEO and social media marketing,

only one in 20 (5%) of companies will be decreasing their budgets in these areas, and for paid

search only 11% will be doing so.

Given the continued poor economic conditions within the UK, the fact that the majority of

companies are planning to increase their budgets in SEO (57%) and social media marketing

(62%), and almost half doing the same with paid search (49%), illustrates that digital channels

provide a highly profitable channel for the vast majority of businesses. This trend has continued

since the economic downturn in 2008-2009 (Figure 21).

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4.3. Bid management technology The chart below shows the range of different bid management tools. Almost a third (32%) are

using tools provided exclusively by search engines, whilst 11% are using DART and 9% are using a

bespoke agency solution. Over one in five (22%) say they use no such tools.

Figure 41 shows the agency results. Almost half (45%) use only the tools provided by search

engines, whilst 7% use DART and 8% use a bespoke agency solution. Almost the same proportion

of agencies (18%) state they use no bid management technology for paid search.

Companies

Figure 3: What bid management technology do you or your agency use primarily for paid search?

Respondents: 187

Note: Efficient Frontier has now been acquired by Adobe.

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4.4. Objectives, effectiveness and ROI

4.4.1. Primary objectives for search and social media marketing

Figure 47 indicates that since 2011, lead generation and direct online sales have become

important to a greater number of companies with paid search, whereas branding and driving

traffic have become less important.

Companies

Figure 4: What are your primary objectives from paid search?

Respondents 2012: 262

Respondents 2011: 278

Note: percentages in this chart refer to the proportion of respondents highlighting an objective as a priority.

Respondents could select more than one objective.

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4.5. Types of search engine marketing The chart below (Figure 62) illustrates levels of involvement (or planned involvement) with

search-related channels. Most popular is social media marketing, which 60% of companies are

currently using and a further 28% planning to use. The least implemented area is pay-per-call,

with only 7% of companies using it now and only 10% planning to use it in the future.

In comparison to 2011 (Figure 63), mobile search has seen the greatest increase in companies

being involved in this area, with the percentage of companies using mobile search increasing from

16% to 25% (a 9% point rise).

The two areas in which most companies are planning to get involved in are Google+ (44%) and

mobile search (40%). The areas in which the fewest companies are planning to get involved in are

shopping comparison sites (49%) and pay-per-call (49%).

Companies

Figure 5: Which of the following areas is your organisation actively involved with, or planning for?

Respondents: 263

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5. Respondent profiles Survey respondents included 326 client-side marketers (company respondents) and 205 supply-

side respondents from agencies and consultancies. For the purposes of this report, we have

carried out separate analysis for both these groups and the distinction is abbreviated to

“companies” (including publishers, not-for-profit organisations and respondents working in

Government) and “agencies” (including vendors).

5.1. Job roles Out of the total of 531 respondents, 326 said they were “part of a company which uses search

engine marketing (client-side / in-house)” and 205 stated they were an “agency / consultant

offering search engine marketing services.”

Figure 6: Which of the following most accurately describes your job role?

Respondents: 531

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5.2. Annual company turnover Out of company respondents, 47% stated they worked for a company with an annual turnover of

£10 million or more. Around one in ten companies (11%) worked for organisations with a

turnover in excess of £1 billion.

Companies

Figure 7: What is your annual company turnover?

Respondents: 206

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5.3. Business sector Out of company respondents, the most common named business sectors were retail (21%), travel

(11%) and financial services (10%). Around one in five (22%) stated that their sector was one not

included on the list.

Companies

Figure 8: In which business sector is your organisation?

Respondents: 242

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5.4. Geography For both company and agency respondents, the majority were UK based, with 98% of company

respondents being based in the UK and 93% of agency respondents. No company respondents

stated they were outside Europe, whilst for agency respondents, only 2% stated this was the case.

Companies

Figure 9: In which country / region are you personally based?

Respondents: 242

Agencies

Figure 10: In which country / region are you personally based?

Respondents: 162