Media Sales Today

We’re already through the first month in the 4th quarter of 2011. For search providers, it’s a busy time of year. Forecasters predict double-digits jumps in search spending through year end. And this is coming off a 7% increase when 3rd quarter pay-per-clicks (PPC) are compared to the activity reported last year.

It looks like small businesses are spending more online these days, and they’re investing more in video for their Web sites than ever before. According to a WebVisible report, the average small business owner spent 111% more in the 4th quarter of 2009, which turns out to be $2149 per advertiser on search marketing.

Some recent Nielsen research (via AdAge) shows that search may not be what’s driving the most traffic to retailer Web sites. This study showed less than 10% of online retailers web traffic came from search, and more than 60% of site visits coming from people going directly to a site.

I was reading a column (online, of course) about online banner ads that really struck a chord with me, as it should with you. The columnist, Razorfish’s Matt Greitzer, fell in love with a banner ad for Howe Caverns because it accomplished precisely what a banner ad sets out to do. Upon seeing and connecting with the ad,Greitzer started investigating Howe Caverns. (I also think he loved it because it brought back warm and fuzzy childhood memories for him — which is an accomplishment of its own right, but not the one I want to focus on today.)