CheezeDMG Blog

With Google’s adjusted trademark policy being implemented and future changes on the horizon, the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) Search Group, of which CheezeDMG are a member of, undertook some research to determine the effect their new policy will have on brands and advertisers.

Search marketing, on Google in particular, is becoming increasingly competitive with cost per click prices rising organically as more advertisers use the channel. Therefore it was vital research to provide the agencies within the group, data on how to move forward with planning ahead with their clients budgets, and a holistic view on the impact the trademark policy change has had on the market.

The IPA discovered the following findings from the research:

A continuing trend of declining Click Through Rates (CTR) on Google in paid search advertising but increasing for Cost Per Click (CPC). A consistent set of data, from January 2008 to March 2009, submitted by 12 agencies on 47 brands shows that average Click Through Rates have declined from around 40% to around 20%, whilst average Cost Per Click has increased from 6p to 29p.

Arjo Ghosh, who at the time of the release of the research was Chairman of IPA Search, commented on the findings, “Search has and still is a very effective way of getting people who are looking for your brand to your site. The rising costs perhaps signify that we are becoming victims of our own success and that the market is just developing naturally and finding its point.” We look forward to future findings from this research project.

CheezeDMG have a similar view on this, with search marketing on Google, in particularly on brand terms, being an efficient and accountable method of driving significant levels of traffic to your site. The success of PPC marketing over the last 5 years though, has led to thriving competition and as mentioned, rising CPC costs which is what this report has confirmed further more.

So what can you do if you’re in a competitive market with an established brand? One things to consider would be to ‘Spread your wings’. Although Google will continue to be the focal point of any search marketing campaign whether it’s paid or natural, there are other platforms to achieve a cheaper presence and drive traffic. Yahoo!, Bing and Facebook to name a few, all offer value for money cost per click prices for your brand.