Experts and executives from leading brands agree that investments in search engine marketing will increase significantly in the coming year. As the market leader, Google will be the one to benefit the most from this trend.
The media are facing an increasingly difficult situation, but search engines can rub their hands together. According to several executives and experts consulted by the specialist newspaper botim data Horizont, the trend is pointing towards search marketing. As the director of Eprofessional , Christian Petersen, states, "it is quite certain that there will be a shift towards search marketing." The reason is clear: "You can measure the ROI of every euro invested, which in difficult economic times is an important argument."
This is the view of many marketing professionals: "Search engine marketing has many advantages in general, but also in difficult economic times," says Lufthansa's marketing director Hubert Frach, who says that in 2009 he will increase investments in this area by double-digit percentages.
The automotive sector is also set to give SEM ( search engine marketing ) a permanent place in its marketing mix. Markus Hinz, Head of the Automotive Division at Google Germany, says that he is “seeing clear signs that the media is taking over.” “Search engine marketing is becoming more and more common in the automotive sector as a strategic marketing mix tool in 2009,” Hinz continues.