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Search engine marketers spent $5.75 billion in 2005: Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization

Press release, On Target Media staff

U.S. and Canadian advertisers spent $5.75 billion on Search Engine Marketing (SEM) in 2005, a 44 percent increase over 2004 spending, according to a report, "The State of Search Engine Marketing 2005" released by the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), a non-profit professional association working to increase awareness and promote the value of Search Engine Marketing worldwide.

The report forecasts that SEM spending in North America will reach $11 billion in 2010. This include payments to search engines and search-related media companies, search engine marketing agencies and in-house expenditures in support of such programs. The programs include paid placement, paid inclusion, organic search engine optimization and search engine marketing technology platforms.



Bsed on an industry-wide survey of 553 respondents conducted in November 2005, the report shows that almost 83% of the spend, or $4.5 billion was on paid placement, with 11% of the spend being accounted on organic search engine optimization.

"The data shows that 2005 was a good year for search, but 2006 should be a great year," said SEMPO Research Committee Co-chair, Gord Hotchkiss. "The growth shown has largely been driven by maturation in existing segments. Future growth will be fueled by an increased search presence from major advertisers and new monetization strategies from the major engines. The increased competitiveness in the marketplace will really drive the industry forward in the coming year."

For more details and analyiss, the report can be downloaded from the SEMPO website.

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