SEO spending up

Spending on search engine optimisation (SEO) and other search marketing techniques is up by 30 per cent worldwide this year, according to a new report.

MarketingSherpa's 2009 Search Marketing Benchmark Guide has found that spending on SEO and other search tactics comprise nearly half of all American companies' expenditure on online marketing.

Stefan Tornquist, MarketingSherpa research director, said the guide for next year had been published so early to enable marketers to plan their own strategies well in advance.

He said that it was intended to be of use to online promoters representing firms of all sizes.

"It's designed to be one-half yardstick with benchmarks and standards for success and one-half inspiration with explorations of what's working, what’s not and what's on the horizon," he said.

Some of the information included in the report is search engine tactics, for example the changing role of different types of online advertising, such as targeting, local, mobile and demographics.

Outsource Strategies International has described SEO as a low cost way of advertising which can generate a potentially high rate of return.

SEO can provide higher brand visibility, higher sales and increased traffic, the site promised.