Paid search 'offers best returns in slowing economy'

23rd September 2008

Pay-per-click (PPC) strategies may be the best way for businesses to keep up their marketing efforts without risking more of their budgets than they need to, it has been suggested.

The Internet Advertising Bureau's Jack Wallington cited PPC as an ideal way of coping with the economic slowdown, as it can be totally measurable when analytics is implemented and because marketers know exactly what they are paying per click.

Companies may also want to look into other strategies such as organic search optimisation, display ads, online PR, mobile ads and affiliate marketing to maintain reasonable marketing investment returns, he added.

"We're all searching for the right answer and search marketing is definitely top of the answer barrel," Mr Wallington said.

"Any marketer worth their salt knows that search is a safe bet for return on investment."

The European Interactive Advertising Association revealed earlier this month that most marketers have upped their online ad budgets in the last year and expect to continue to do so in 2009 and 2010.