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SEARCH IN MARKETING

2018

A Study Of SEM And SEO In The Marketing Industry by the Minnesota Search Engine Marketing Association

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OUTLINE

The Methodology

Marketers

SEM/SEO Knowledge in the Industry

SEM/SEO and Revenue

Investing in SEM/SEO

Recommendations

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THE METHODOLOGY

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STUDY

METHODOLOGY:

TARGETING

  • 441 self-identified marketers
  • U.S. Internet users ages 25+
  • Respondents recruited via Google Surveys market research platform
  • Responses gathered between:�March 25, 2018 - March 30, 2018

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STUDY METHODOLOGY:

QUESTIONS

  • What percentage of your total revenue came from search engine marketing (organic or paid) in the past year?
  • What level of expertise does your organization have in search engine marketing (organic or paid)?
  • How well do your marketing leaders understand the principles of search engine optimization (SEO)?
  • How well do your marketing leaders understand the principles of pay-per-click advertising on Google AdWords?
  • How will your organization prioritize budget for search engine optimization (SEO) in the next year?
  • How will your organization prioritize budget for pay-per-click advertising on Google AdWords in the next year?
  • Which statement best describes the overall revenue performance for your organization in the past year?
  • How many years of marketing experience do you have?
  • How many people work for your organization?

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MARKETERS

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3 IN 100 INTERNET USERS IDENTIFY AS A MARKETER

We asked 23,490 Internet users to tell us what kind of job they had and 681 of them told us that they had a job in marketing.

2.9%

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(+0.2% / -0.2%)

MARKETERS

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MARKETERS ARE GENERALLY AN EXPERIENCED LOT

There is a large cohort of very experienced marketers (38%). The rest of the industry averages between 6-10 years of experience.

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MARKETERS HAPPY TO SHARE GROWTH BUT LESS CLEAR ABOUT DECLINES

  • 40% of marketers reported growth in the past year
  • 17% reported no change
  • Only 9 % reported declines
  • Many marketers won’t disclose or don’t know how they did

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SEM/SEO KNOWLEDGE

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SEM/SEO EXPERTS WORK WITHIN COMPANIES OF ALL SIZES

  • Smaller companies know they don’t have expertise
  • Larger companies likely do have expertise, but are too far- removed from SEO/SEM to know it.

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A SLIM MAJORITY ARE CONFIDENT IN LEADERSHIP SEM/ SEO KNOWLEDGE

Overall confidence in marketing leaders’ knowledge of SEM and SEO are about the same; Women are slightly more confident in their leaders than men are.

56%

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OVERALL

54%

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MEN

60%

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WOMEN

CONFIDENT IN LEADERSHIP SEO KNOWLEDGE

CONFIDENT IN LEADERSHIP SEM KNOWLEDGE

55%

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53%

58%

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SEM KNOWLEDGE IN LEADERSHIP IS CONNECTED TO OVERALL GROWTH

Companies are more likely to see revenue growth and less likely to decline as their marketing leaders’ understanding of digital paid media strategies increases.

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SEO KNOWLEDGE DRIVES GROWTH, AND A LITTLE CAN GO A LONG WAY

In general, growth and leadership’s SEO knowledge are connected, but some companies grow even when they invest modestly in their own SEO competencies and understanding.

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SEM/SEO AND REVENUE

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SEM/SEO VITAL TO FEW, RELIED ON BY SOME, AND NOT USED BY TOO MANY

  • 15% depend on SEM/SEO
  • ~1 in 3 not doing SEM/SEO
  • ~1 in 4 use as support channels
  • ~1 in 4 not sure how SEM/SEO contribute to their revenue

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RAPID GROWTH COMPANIES 2X MORE LIKELY TO EMPLOY SEM/SEO

Companies that claimed to have grown by more than ten percent (10%) in the past year were twice as likely to report having SEM/SEO expertise (32% vs. 16%, respectively).

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INVESTING IN SEM/SEO

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SEO SPEND WILL �BE THE SAME WHILE SEM MAY GO DOWN SLIGHTLY

The overall amount of spending on SEM/SEO will be about the same, with some of SEM’s dollars now likely going to SEO instead.

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GROWING COMPANIES ARE MORE LIKELY TO INVEST IN SEO

Chicken or the egg? Are companies investing in SEO because they’re growing or are they growing because they’re investing in SEO?

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GROWING COMPANIES ARE MORE LIKELY TO INVEST IN SEM

Chicken or the egg? Are companies investing in SEM because they’re growing or are they growing because they’re investing in SEM?

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RECOMMENDATIONS

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COMMIT

Companies that fully commit to SEM/SEO end up growing the fastest.

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LEARN

Leaders should be open to learning the principles of SEM and SEO if they are to full leverage the tactics to grow their companies.

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INVEST

Companies that invest in SEM/SEO end up growing because search is the cornerstone of today’s best digital marketing strategies.

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